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485  .C168  1847  v.lO 
Calvin,  Jean,  1509-1564 
Commentaries  . . . 


i\ 


COMMENTARY 


ON 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS. 


VOL.  IV. 


THE  CALVIN  TRANSLATION  SOCIETY, 


INSTITUTED  IN  MAT  M.DCCCXLIII. 


FOR  THE  rUBLlCATION  OF  TRANSLATIONS  OF  THE  WORKS  OF 

JOHN  CALVIN. 


COMMENTARY 


ON 


THE   BOOK    OF   PSALMS. 


BT  JOHN  CAIVm. 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  ORIGINAL  LATIN,  AND  COLLATED 
WITH  THE  AUTHOR'S  FRENCH  VERSION, 

BY  THE  REV.  JAMES  ANDERSON. 


VOLUME  FOUKTH. 


EDINBURGH : 

PRINTED  FOR  THE  CALVU^  TRANSLATION  SOCIETY. 

M.DCCC.XLVII. 


[CSntereB  at  ©tatfoneris'  l^alTt] 


EDINBURGH: 

THE  EDINBURGH  PRINTING  COTVIPANT, 

12,  South  St  David  Street. 


COMMENTARY 


iUPON 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS- 


PSALM  XCIIL 

The  psalm  commences  with  the  celebration  of  the  infinite  glory  of 
God.  It  is  then  declared  that  such  is  his  faithfulness  that  he  never 
deceives  his  own  people,  who,  embracing  his  promises,  wait  with 
tranquil  minds  for  then-  salvation  amidst  all  the  tempeets  aad  agita- 
tions of  the  world. 

1.  Jehovah  hath  reigned,  he  hath  clothed  him&elf  wUh  majesty  ;' 
Jehovah  hath  clothed  himself  with  strength,  he  hath  girded 
himself  ;*  he  haih  also  established  the  world,  it  shall  not  he 
moved, 

'  Horsley  translates,— 

"  Jehovah  is  King, 
Jehovah  is  gorgeously  arrayed." 
And,  on  the  second  line,  he  has  the  following  note  : — "  The  construction 
of  the  original  is  doubtful,  though  the  sense  be  obvious.  The  text  may 
be  expounded  in  either  of  these  two  ways ;  nin*  (Jehovah)  tJ^l^  (hath 
put  on)  tJ'a!?  n1^<J  (majesty  of  dress ;)  or,  ^y^  niK3  (majesty  of  dress) 
[is]  {»>3^  (the  dress)  nirf  (of  Jehovah.)" 

^  See  vol.  ii.  p.  455,  note  2.  Bishop  Lowth  supposes  that  here,  as 
well  as  in  that  passage,  there  is  an  allusion  to  the  precious  and  magnifi- 
cent ornaments  of  the  priests'  attire.  "  Such,"  says  he,  "  was  the  grace- 
fulness, such  the  magnificence  of  the  sacerdotal  vestments,  especially  those 
of  the  High  Priest ;  so  adapted  were  they,  as  Moses  says,  (Exod.  xxviii. 
2,)  to  the  expression  of  glory  and  beauty,  that  to  those  who  were  im- 
pressed with  an  equal  opinion  of  the  sanctity  of  the  wearer,  nothing  could 
possibly  appear  more  venerable  and  sublime.  To  these,  therefore,  we  find 
frequent  allusions  in  the  Hebrew  poets,  when  they  have  occasion  to 
describe  extraordinary  beauty  or  comeliness,  or  to  delineate  the  perfect 


COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIII. 


2.    Thy  throne  is  stable  ;'  from  then,  from  everlasting  art  thou, 

1.  Jehovah  hath  reigned.  We  here  see  what  I  have  lately 
adverted  to,  that  in  the  power  of  God  there  Is  exhibited  to 
us  matter  of  confidence ;  for  our  not  investing  God  with  the 
power  which  belongs  to  him,  as  we  ought  to  do,  and  thus 
wickedly  despoiling  him  of  his  authority,  is  the  source  of  that 
fear  and  trembling  which  we  very  often  experience.  This, 
it  is  true,  we  dare  not  do  openly,  but  were  we  well  persuaded 
of  his  invincible  power,  that  would  be  to  us  an  invincible 
support  against  all  the  assaults  of  temptation.  All  admit  in 
word  what  the  prophet  here  teaches,  That  God  reigns  ;  but 
how  few  are  there  who  oppose  this  shield  to  the  hostile 
powers  of  the  world,  as  it  becomes  them  to  do,  that  they 
may  fear  nothing  however  terrible?  In  this  then  consists 
the  glory  of  God,  that  he  governs  mankind  according  to 
his  will.  It  is  said  that  he  clothes  himself  with  majesty  and 
strength ;  not  that  we  ought  to  imagine  that  there  is  any  thing 
in  him  which  is  derived  from  another,  but  it  is  intended  by 
the  effect  and  indubitable  experience  to  show  his  wisdom  and 
righteousness  in  the  government  of  mankind.  The  Psalmist 
proves  that  God  will  not  neglect  or  abandon  the  world, 
from  the  fact  that  he  created  it.  A  simple  survey  of  the 
world  should  of  itself  suflSce  to  attest  a  Divine  Providence. 
The  heavens  revolve  daily,  and,  immense  as  is  their  fabric, 

form  of  supreme  Majesty.  The  elegant  Isaiah  (chap.  Ixi.  10)  has  a  most 
beautiful  idea  of  this  kind  when  he  describes,  in  his  own  peculiar  manner, 
(that  is,  most  magnificently,)  the  exultation  and  glory  of  the  Church, 
after  its  triumphalrestoration.  Pm-suing  the  allusion,  he  decorates  herwith 
the  vestments  of  salvation,  and  clothes  her  in  a  robe  of  righteousness.  He 
afterwards  compares  the  Church  to  a  bridegroom  dressed  for  the  marriage, 
to  which  comparison  incredible  dignity  is  added  by  the  word  Ikohen^  a 
metaphor  plainly  taken  from  the  apparel  of  the  priests,  the  force  of  which, 
therefore,  no  modern  language  can  express.  No  imagery,  indeed, 
which  the  Hebrew  Avriters  could  employ,  was  equally  adapted  with  this 
to  the  display  (as  far  as  the  human  powers  can  conceive  or  depict  the 
subject)  of  the  infinite  majesty  of  God,  '  Jehovah'  is  therefore  introduced 
by  the  Psalmist  as  '  clothed  with  glory  and  with  strength,'  (Psalm  xciii.  1,) 
he  is  '  girded  with  power,'  (Psalm  Ixv.  7  ;)  which  are  the  very  tei*ms  ap- 
propriated to  the  describing  of  the  dress  and  ornaments  of  the  priests." — 
Lectures  on  the  Sacred  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews^  vol.  i.  pp.  174,  175. 
*  "Ou,  prepare." — Fr.  marg.     "  Or,  prepared." 


PSALM  XCIII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  7 

and  inconceivable  the  rapidity  of  their  revolutions,  we  expe- 
rience no  concussion — no  disturbance  in  the  harmony  of  their 
motion.  The  sun,  though  varying  its  course  every  diurnal  re- 
volution, returns  annually  to  the  same  point.  Tlie  planets,  in 
all  their  wanderings,  maintain  their  respective  positions.  How 
could  the  earth  hang  suspended  in  the  air  were  it  not  upheld 
by  God's  hand?  By  what  means  could  it  maintain  itself 
unmoved,  while  the  heavens  above  are  in  constant  rapid 
motion,  did  not  its  Divine  Maker  fix  and  establish  it  ? 
Accordingly  the  particle  ftX,  aph,  denoting  emphasis,  is 
introduced — yea,  he  hath  established  it. 

2.  Thj/  throne  is  stable.  Some  read,  is  prepared,  and  this 
agrees  well  with  the  context,  provided  we  take  the  two  clauses 
as  one  sentence,  meaning —  O  Lord,  as  thou  art  from  eternity, 
even  so  thy  throne  is  erected  or  prepared  from  that  time.  For 
the  sense  which  some  have  attached  to  the  words,  as  if  they 
contained  a  simple  assertion  of  God's  eternity,  is  poor ;  and 
the  Psalmist  evidently  intends  to  say  that  as  God  is  eternal 
in  essence,  so  he  has  always  been  invested  with  power  and 
majesty.  The  term  throne  signifies,  by  the  figure  synecdoche, 
righteousness,  and  office  or  power  of  government ;  it  being 
customary  to  transfer  such  images  taken  from  men  to  God, 
in  accommodation  to  our  infirmity.'  By  this  ascription  of 
praise  the  Psalmist  effectually  disposes  of  all  the  absurd  ideas 
which  have  been  broached,  tending  to  deny  or  disparage  the 
power  of  God,  and  declares,  upon  the  matter,  that  God  may 
sooner  cease  to  be,  than  to  sit  upon  his  throne  in  the  govern- 
ment of  this  world. 

3.  The  floods  have  lifted  up,  O, Jehovah  I  the  floods  have  lifted 

up  their  voice  ;  the  floods  shall  lift  up  their  waves. 

4.  The  waves^  of  the  sea  are  terrible,  hy  reason  of  the  noise  of 

great  waters,  Jehovah  is  terrible  above. 

^  "  Selou  que  ces  similitudes-ci  prinses  des  hommes  ont  de  coiistunie 
d'estre  appropriees  k  Dieu,  pour  le  regard  et  la  portee  de  nostre  iufir- 
mite."— Fr. 

2  The  Hebrew  word  '•"laK'Di  mishherey,  here  used  for  waves,  means 
"waves"  that  "beat"  against  the  shore  or  each  other,  and  so  are  "broken," 
— "breakers."  Accordingly,  Mant  translates,  "Strong  the  breakers  tossing 


8  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIII. 

5.    Thy  testimonies  are  singularly  true  :  holiness  is  the  glory  of 
thy  house,  0  Jehovah!  for  length  of  days ^ 

3.  The  Jioods  have  lifted  up,  O  Jehovah !  Various  mean- 
ings have  been  attached  to  this  verse.  Some  think  there  is 
an  allusion  to  the  violent  assaults  made  upon  the  Church  by 
her  enemies,  and  the  goodness  of  God  seen  in  restraining 
them.'^  Others  are  of  opinion  that  the  words  should  be  taken 
literally,  and  not  figuratively,  in  this  sense — Though  the  noise 
of  many  waters  be  terrible,  and  the  waves  of  the  sea  more  fear- 
ful still,  God  is  more  terrible  than  all.  I  would  not  be  inclined 
to  insist  too  nicely  upon  any  comparison  that  may  have  been 
intended.  I  have  no  doubt  the  Psalmist  sets  forth  the  power 
of  God  by  adducing  one  brief  illustration  out  of  many  which 

high."  Horsley  gives  a  similar  version.  He  reads  the  third  and  fourth 
verses  thus, — 

3.  "  The  floods,  O  Jehovah !  raised, 

The  floods  raised  their  voice  ; 
The  floods  lifted  up  their  waves, 
With  the  sound  of  many  waters. 

4.  Mighty  are  the  breakers  of  the  sea! 
Mighty  on  High  is  Jehovah  !" 

As  to  the  fourth  line,  "  With  the  sound  of  many  waters,"  he  observes, 
"  This  is  the  first  line  of  the  fourth,  bat  should  be  joined  to  the  third 
verse.  And  are  not  the  floods  here  mentioned,  the  fluids  of  the  indi- 
gested chaos,  in  wild  irregular  agitation,  before  the  Creator  had  reduced 
it  to  form  and  order?  Or  rather,  may  they  not  be  mystical, — the 
tumults  of  the  rebellious  people  ?" 

1 "  Domui  tu^e  decus,  sanctitas  Jehovah  in  longitudinem  dienim." — Lat. 
The  translation  in  the  French  version  is  different, — "  A  ta  maison  est  done 
magnificence :  la  sainctete  du  Seigneur  est  pour  un  long  temps."  "  To  thy 
house  then  there  is  glory :  the  holiness  of  the  Lord  is  for  a  length  of  time." 
In  the  former  version,  holiness  is  represented  to  be  the  true  glorj^  and  or- 
nament of  God's  house ;  in  the  latter,  it  is  described  as  the  attribute  of  God. 

2  Dr  Morison,  after  stating  the  opinion  of  Mudge,  who  thinks  that  this 
psalm  was  composed  on  occasion  of  some  violent  inundation,  which 
threatened  a  general  confusion  t6  the  world,  adds,  "It  is  more  pro- 
bable, perhaps,  that  the  floods  spoken  of  are  entirely  figurative ;  and 
that  they  represent  in  Eastern  phrase,  those  powerful  enemies  by  whom 
the  peace  of  David  and  the  ancient  Church  was  so  often  disturbed.  But 
though  the  floods  were  lifted  high,  and  threatened  destruction  to  those 
who  were  within  their  reach,  yet  Jehovah  was  seen,  as  it  were,  riding  on 
their  most  tempestuous  billows,  and  amidst  their  mightiest  tumult,  his 
throne  was  unshaken  and  his  kingdom  unmoved."  In  support  of  this 
view  he  refers  to  other  passages  of  Scripture,  as  Isa.  viii.  7,  8  ;  xvii.  12, 
13 ;  and  Job  xlvi.  7,  8,  where  the  confederated  enemies  of  God's  Church 
are  compared  to  the  tempestuous  waves  of  the  mighty  ocean,  which  roll 
one  after  another  with  resistless  fury  upon  the  storm- tossed  bark. 


PSALM  XCIir.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  tf 

might  have  been  given,'  intimating  that  we  need  not  go 
farther  for  a  striking  instance  of  Divine  power — one  that  may 
impress  us  with  an  idea  of  his  tremendous  majesty — than  to 
the  floods  of  waters,  and  agitations  of  the  ocean ;  as  in  Psalm 
xxix.  4,  the  mighty  voice  of  God  is  said  to  be  in  the  thunder. 
God  manifests  his  power  in  the  sound  of  the  floods,  and  in 
the  tempestuous  waves  of  the  sea,  in  a  way  calculated  to 
excite  our  reverential  awe.  Should  it  be  thought  that  there 
is  a  comparison  intended,  then  the  latter  clause  of  the  verse 
must  be  understood  as  added,  with  this  meaning,  That  all 
the  terror  of  the  objects  mentioned  is  as  nothing  when  we 
come  to  consider  the  majesty  of  God  himself,  such  as  he  is 
in  heaven.  There  is  still  another  sense  which  may  be  extracted 
from  the  words.  That  though  the  world  may  to  appearance 
be  shaken  with  violent  commotions,  this  argues  no  defect  in 
the  government  of  God,  since  he  can  control  them  at  once 
by  his  dreadful  power. 

5.  Thy  testimonies'^  are  singularly  true.  As  yet  the  Psalmist 
has  insisted  upon  the  excellency  of  God  in  the  work  of 
creation,  and  the  providential  government  of  the  world. 
Now  he  speaks  of  his  distinguishing  goodness  to  his  chosen 
people,  in  making  known  to  them  the  doctrine  which  bringeth 
salvation.  He  begins  by  commending  the  absolute  trust- 
worthiness and  truthfulness  of  the  law  of  God.  This  beinsf 
a  treasure  which  was  not  extended  to  all  nations  promis- 
cuously, he  adds  immediately  that  the  house  of  God  would 
be  adorned  with  a  glory  which  should  last  for  ever.  The 
Divine  goodness  is  displayed  in  every  part  of  the  world,  but 
the  Psalmist  justly  considers  it  as  of  all  others  the  most 
inestimable  blessing,  that  God  should  have  deposited  in  Iiis 


1  "  Non  dubito  quiii  Propheta  quasi  per  hjpotyposin  Dei  potentiam 
hie  nobis  exprimat." — Lat.  "  Comme  par  une  demonstratioa." — Fr.  lly- 
potyposis  means  strictly  the  first  rough  sketch  of  a  picture. 

2  "  The  testimonies  of  God,  when  taken  generally,  are  the  truths  which 
he  has  testified  or  declared,  inclusive  not  only  of  moral  precepts,  but  of 
gracious  and  unchangeable  promises.  The  combined  result  of  which  is, 
to  impress  on  the  minds  of  men  the  weighty  consideration,  that  those 
who  trust  in  the  mercy  of  God  must  not,  in  a  lower  degree,  venerate  and 
adore  his  sanctity  in  all  their  converse  with  him." — Walford. 


10  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIV. 

Church  the  covenant  of  eternal  life,  and  made  his  glory 
principal!}'  to  shine  out  of  it.  Some  translate  the  Hebrew 
word  mt^Jj  naavah,  desirable,^  as  if  the  Psalmist  had  said 
that  the  adorning  of  the  temple  loas  precious ;  but  the  gram- 
matical construction  will  not  admit  of  this.  By  length  of  days 
is  meant  perpetual  succession,"^  and  to  this  we  find  Isaiah 
referring  in  striking  terms,  (chap.  lix.  21,)  "  Behold,  I  have 
put  my  word  in  thy  mouth,  in  the  mouth  of  thy  seed,  and  of 
thy  seed's  seed,"  that  the  Divine  truth  might  be  preserved  in 
faithful  custody  through  successive  ages. 


PSALM  XCIV. 

The  Psalmist  implores  Divine  assistance  against  wicked  and  violent  men, 
who  persecuted  the  upright  in  a  cruel  and  tyrannical  manner.  It  is 
evident  that  he  refers  to  domestic  foes,  whose  unrighteous  domination 
was  as  vexatious  and  oppressive  to  the  Lord's  people,  as  all  the  injuries 
received  fi'om  the  Gentile  nations  without. 

1.   0  Jehovah  !  God  of  vengeances  ;   God  of  vengeances,^  shine 

'  "  Quidam,  niXJi  pi'o  desiderabili  accipiunt :  acsi  dixisset  propheta, 
Templi  decus  esse  pretiosum,"  &c.—  Lat.  The  French  version  follows  this 
exactly.  But  the  sentence  is  unsatisfactory ;  and  there  would  seem  to 
be  some  mistake,  or  omission,  in  the  original  text.  If  the  Hebrew  word 
referred  to  be  rendered  desirable,  then  when  joined  to  tj>-jp,  the  clause 
would  read,  holiness  is  desirable,  or  becoming,  to  thy  house,  §'C. — and  not 
the  adorning  of  thy  house  is  desirable,  or  precious. 

2  "  '  Holiness  becometh  thine  house— for  ever,'  dijo"*  'y\vhi  le-orec 
yamim,  '  for  length  of  days :'  during  the  whole  lapse  of  time ;  till  the 
sun  and  moon  shall  be  no  more." — Dr  Adam  Clarke. 

3  This  is  a  literal  translation  of  the  original  Hebrew,  and  Archbishop 
Seeker  thinks  it  is  much  more  spirited  than  that  of  our  English  version. 
The  word  veiigeance,  when  applied  to  God,  means  nothing  more  than  his 
retributive  justice.  It  may  not  be  one  of  the  happiest  words  for  repre- 
senting the  Hebrew  term  when  used  to  expi-ess  this  attribute  of  Deity, 
being  liable  to  be  misunderstood,  as  if  it  implied  a  revengeful  spu-it,  the 
sense  which  it  commonly  bears  when  applied  to  men.  "This  retri- 
butive justice,"  says  Dr  Adam  Clarke,  "  is  what  we  often  term  vengeance, 
but  perhaps  improperly  ;  for  vengeance  with  us  signifies  an  excitement 
of  angry  passions,  in  order  to  gratify  a  vindictive  spirit,  which  supposes 
itself  to  have  received  some  real  injury;  whereas,  w-hat  is  here  referred 
to  is  the  simple  act  of  justice  that  gives  to  all  their  due." 


PSALM  XCIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  11 

forth.  1     2.   Lift  up  thyself,  thou  Judge  of  the  earth,  render 
a  reward  to  the  proud. 

3.  0  Jehovah  !  how  long  shall  the  vjicked — how  long  shall  the 

wicked  triumph  ? 

4.  They  pour  forth,  they  speak  hard  things,  all  the  workers  of 

iniguity  lift  up  themselves. 

5.  They  break  in  pieces  thy  people,  0  Jehovah  !  and  afflict  thy 

inheritance. 

6.  They  slay  the  widow,  and  the  stranger,  and  murder   the 

fatherless. 

1.  O  Jehovah  I  God  of  vengeances.  We  know  that  the 
Jews  were  surrounded  by  many  neighbours  who  were  not  well 
affected  towards  them,  and  were  thus  incessantly  subject  to 
the  assaults  and  oppression  of  bitter  enemies.  As  this 
intestine  persecution  was  even  more  afflictive  than  the  ram- 
pant and  unrestrained  violence  of  the  wicked,  we  need  not 
wonder  that  the  Psalmist  should  earnestly  beseech  God  for 
deliverance  from  it.  The  expressions  which  he  uses,  calling 
upon  God  to  shine  forth  conspicuously,  and  lift  himself  up  on 
high,  amount  in  common  language  to  this,  that  God  would 
give  some  actual  manifestation  of  his  character  as  judge  or 
avenger  ;  for  in  that  case  he  is  seen  ascending  his  tribunal  to 
exact  the  punishment  due  to  sin,  and  demonstrate  his  power 
in  preserving  order  and  government  in  the  world.  The 
phraseology  is  used  only  in  reference  to  ourselves,  disposed 
as  we  are  to  feel  as  if  he  overlooked  us,  unless  he  stretched 
out  his  hand  to  help  us  in  some  visible  and  open  manner.  In 
calling  him  twice  successively  the  God  of  vengeances,  and  then, 
judge  of  the  earth,  the  Psalmist  uses  these  titles  as  applicable 
to  the  present  situation  in  which  he  stood,  reminding  Him  in 
a  manner  of  the  office  which  belonged  to  him,  and  saying — 
O  Lord  !  it  is  thine  to  take  vengeance  upon  sinners,  and  judge 
the  earth — see  how  they  take  advantage  of  the  impunity 
which  is  extended  to  their  guilt,  and  triumph  audaciously  in 

'  Mant  renders, 

"  Beam  forth  with  all  thy  radiance  bright." 
"  The  Hebrew  verb,"  he  observes,  "  signifies  to  irradiate,  shine  forth,  as 
God  in  glory ;  Ps.  Ixxx.  l ;  1.  2 ;  and  that  either  in  vengeance,  as  in 
this  place,  or  kindness,  as  in  Job  x.  3." — See  Parkhursfs  Lexicon  on  ya*. 


12  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIV. 

their  wickedness  !  Not  that  God  needs  to  be  admonished  of 
his  duty,  for  he  never  resigns  himself  to  indifference,  and 
even  when  he  seems  to  delay  his  judgments,  is  only  adjust- 
ing them  according  to  what  he  knows  to  be  the  best  season ; 
but  his  people  conceive  of  him  in  this  way  to  themselves, 
and  take  occasion  from  this  to  embolden  and  stimulate  them- 
selves to  greater  vehemency  in  prayer.^  The  same  may  be 
said  of  the  repetition  which  the  Psalmist  uses.  When  the 
wicked  then  indulge  in  unrestrained  excesses,  we  are  to 
remember  that  God  can  never  cease  to  assert  his  character  as 
the  judge  of  the  earth  who  takes  vengeance  upon  iniquity. 
Does  he  seem  in  our  carnal  apprehension  to  have  at  any  time 
withdrawn  and  hidden  himself?  let  us  put  up  without  hesi- 
tation the  prayer  which  is  here  taught  us  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
that  he  would  shine  forth. 

3.  O  Jehovah  !  how  long  shall  the  wicked  ?  The  Psalmist 
justifies  himself  in  this  verse  for  the  fervent  importunity 
which  he  showed  in  prayer.  There  was  need  of  immediate 
help,  when  the  wicked  had  proceeded  to  such  an  extent  of 
audacity.  The  necessity  of  our  case  may  justly  embolden  us 
in  our  requests,  which  must  be  all  the  more  readily  heard  as 
they  are  reasonable  ;  and  here  the  Psalmist  insists  that  his 
complaints  were  not  without  cause,  nor  originated  in  trifling 
reasons,  but  were  extorted  by  injuries  of  the  most  flagrant 
description.  Notice  is  taken  of  the  length  of  time  during 
which  their  persecutions  had  lasted,  as  an  aggravating  cir- 
cumstance. They  had  become  hardened  under  the  long- 
continued  forbearance  of  God,  and  had  in  consequence  con- 
tracted a  shamelessness,  as  well  as  obstinacy  of  spirit, 
imagining  that  he  looked  upon  their  wickedness  with  an  eye 
of  favour.  The  term  hoiv  long  twice  repeated,  implies  the 
extent  of  impunity  which  had  been  granted,  that  it  was  not 
as  if  they  had  newly  started  upon  their  career,  but  that  they 
had  been  tolerated  for  a  length  of  time,  and  had  become 


•  "  Mais  les  fideles  s'arrestent  a  mediter  ainsi  en  eux-mesmes  la  nature 
d'iceluy,  afin  de  s'accourager  a  meilleure  espei'ance,  et  soliciter  a  prier 
avec  plus  grande  ardcur  et  vehemence." — Fr. 


PSALM  XCIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  1$ 

outrageously  flagitious.  It  was  thus  that  in  former  times 
wicked  men  tyrannized  to  such  a  degree  over  the  Church, 
while  yet  God  did  not  interfere  to  apply  a  remedy ;  and  we 
need  not  be  surprised  that  he  should  subject  her  now  to  pro- 
tracted persecutions,  nor  should  we  conclude  that,  because  he 
does  not  immediately  proceed  to  cure  existing  evils,  he  has 
utterly  forsaken  her.  The  term  triumph  denotes  that  fulness 
of  audacious  and  boasting  exultation  which  the  wicked  feel 
when  they  are  intoxicated  with  continued  rcsperity,  and 
conceive  that  they  may  indulge  in  every  excess  without 
restraint. 

4.  They  pour  forth,  they  speak  hard  things}  He  shows  in 
still  clearer  terms,  how  their  fierceness  in  persecution  was 
such  that  they  did  not  scruple  to  glory  in  their  guilt.  The 
Hebrew  verb  y^J,  nahang,  means  more  than  to  speak.  Liter- 
ally it  signifies  to  rush  or  boil  forth,  and  comes  to  denote  figu- 
ratively the  uttering  of  reckless  or  rash  words.  We  see 
how  wicked  men  are  instigated  by  pride  and  vain-glory,  to 
demean  and  disgrace  themselves  so  far  as  to  boast  vain-glori- 
ously  of  their  power,  breathing  forth  threatenings  of  blood- 
shed, violence,  and  monstrous  cruelty.  It  is  to  such  ebulli- 
tions that  the  Psalmist  refers,  when  men  who  are  lost  to  all 
sense  of  shame  and  modesty  boast  of  the  wickedness  which 
they  can  perpetrate  at  will.  This  is  what  he  means  by  their 
speaking  hard  things,  uttering  discourse  which  is  under  no 
restraint  of  fear,  or  prudential  consideration,  but  which 
launches  into  the  most  unbridled  license.  As  the  Lord's  people 
had  formerly  to  endure  the  heavy  trial  of  seeing  the  Church 
subjected  to  this  wild  tyranny  and  misrule,  we  should  account 
it  no  strange  thing  to  see  the  Church  suffering  still  under 
miserable  misgovernment,  or  positive  oppression,  but  should 
pray  for  help  from  God,  who,  though  he  connives  at  wickedness 
for  a  time,  eventually  comes  to  the  deliverance  of  his  children. 


'  lu  our  English  Bible  this  verse  is  put  into  the  interrogative  form,  and 
the  words  "  how  long  "  are  supplied  :  "  Hoio  long  shall  they  utter  and 
speak  hard  things?"  Calvin  translates  it  as  a  simple  statement,  and  with- 
out any  supplemental  words  ;  which  Archbishop  Seeker  considers  to  be 
more  correct. 


14  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIY. 

5.  They  break  in  pieces  thy  people,  O  Jehovah !  Having 
spoken  of  their  discourse  or  language  as  vain-glorious  and 
shameless,  he  proceeds  to  speak  of  their  deeds,  in  cruelly  per- 
secuting the  Church.  It  is  hard  that  even  the  subjects  of 
heathen  princes  should  be  subjected  to  unjust  persecution, 
but  a  more  intolerable  thing  still,  that  those  vv^ho  are  God's 
own  people,  his  peculiar  inheritance,  should  be  trampled  un- 
der the  foot  of  tyranny.  The  prayer  before  us  is  one  which, 
as  I  have  already  remarked,  is  given  with  the  intention  that 
we  should  prefer  it  ourselves,  when  we  or  others  may  be  per- 
secuted by  wicked  men,  and  especially  intestine  enemies. 
Our  safety  is  dear  to  the  Lord,  not  only  as  we  are  men,  the 
workmanship  of  his  hand,  but  as  we  are  his  peculiar  heritage ; 
and  this  should  lead  us,  when  wronged  at  any  time,  to  betake 
ourselves  to  God  with  the  more  confidence.  It  is  farther 
added — that  they  spare  not  the  widow,  and  the  orphan,  and 
murder  the  stranger.  God,  while  he  has  commanded  us  in 
general  to  cultivate  equity  and  justice  in  our  common  inter- 
course, has  commended  the  orphan,  widow,  and  stranger,  to 
our  peculiar  care,  as  being  more  exposed  to  injury,  and  there- 
fore more  entitled  to  humanity  and  compassion.  To  treat 
such  objects  with  cruelty  argues  a  singular  degree  of  impiety, 
and  contempt  of  divine  authority,  and  is  not  only  an  outrage 
of  common  justice,  but  the  infraction  of  a  privilege  of  special 
protection  which  God  has  condescended  to  cast  around  them.' 
They  who  are  chargeable  with  such  conduct,  particularly 
provoke  the  divine  anger.  As  to  little  children  especially, 
their  helplessness  and  tender  age  will  even  protect  them  from 
being  attacked  by  dogs  and  wild  beasts.  And  what  shall  we 
think  of  the  monstrous  inhumanity  of  men,  who  would  make 
them  the  objects  of  their  assault  ?  We  have  here  a  specimen 
of  the  dreadful  state  of  matters  which  must  then  have  pre- 
vailed in  the  Church  of  God.  The  law  was  there,  and  the 
ordinances  of  divine  appointment,  yet  we  see  to  what  an  awful 
extent  every  species  of  wickedness  abounded.  Let  us  beware 
lest  we  fall  into  a  similar  state  of  corruption,  and  should  it  so 

'  "Non  seulement  le  droict  commun  est  viole,  mais  aussi  le  privilege 
que  Dieu  a  voulu  ordonuer  pour  les  maintenir  en  sauvete  et  seurete." — 
Fr. 


PSALM  XCIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  15 

happen  under  our  own  observation  that  men  persecute  the 
stranger,  seize  the  widow,  and  rob  the  fatherless,  let  us,  in 
imitation  of  the  Psalmist,  who  would  have  us  alleviate  their 
misfortunes,  pray  God  to  undertake  their  defence. 

7.  And  they  have  said,  God  shall  not  see,  the  God  of  Jacob  shall 

not  know. 

8.  Understand,  ye  stupid  ^  among  the  people  :  and  ye  fools,  when 

will  ye  be  wise  ? 

9.  He  that  planted  ^  the  ear,  shall  he  not  hear  ?  he  that  formed 

the  eye,  shall  he  not  see  ? 
10.   He  that  chastiseth  the  nations,  shall  not  he  correct!  he  that 
teacheth  man  knowledge.^ 

7.  Arid  they  have  said,  God  shall  not  see.  When  the  Psalm- 
ist speaks  of  the  wicked  as  taunting  God  with  blindness  and 
ignorance,  we  are  not  to  conceive  of  them  as  just  exactly- 
entertaining  this  imagination  of  him  in  their  hearts,  but  they 
despise  his  judgments  as  much  as  if  he  took  no  cognisance  of 
human  affairs.  Were  the  truth  graven  upon  men's  hearts  that 
they  cannot  elude  the  eye  of  God,  this  would  serve  as  a  check 
and  restraint  upon  their  conduct.  When  they  proceed  to 
such  audacity  in  wickedness  as  to  lay  the  hand  of  violence 
upon  their  fellow-creatures,  to  rob,  and  to  destroy,  it  shows 
that  they  have  fallen  into  a  state  of  brutish  security  in  which 
they  virtually  consider  themselves  as  concealed  from  the  view 
of  the  Almighty.  This  security  sufficiently  proves  at  least 
that  they  act  as  if  they  never  expected  to  be  called  to  an  ac- 
count for  their  conduct.*     Though  they  may  not  then  be 


C( 


Di-iy3,  boharim,  ye  brutish.     From  "ly^,  a  brute." — Bythner. 

2  "  The  Hebrew  verb  denotes />/an</n^  in  various  senses  :  and  is  with 
great  propriety  applied  to  the  wonderful  structure  of  the  ear,  and  its  in- 
sertion into  and  connection  with  the  head." — Mant. 

^  Upon  this  and  the  preceding  verse,  Gi'otius  says,  "  This  is  a  very 
excellent  way  of  arguing ;  for  whatever  perfection  there  is  in  created 
beings,  it  is  derived  from  God  ;  and  therefore  it  must  be  in  him  in  the 
most  eminent  manner."  It  is  well  observed  by  Dr  Adam  Clarke,  that 
"  the  Psalmist  does  not  say,  He  that  planted  the  ear  hath  he  not  an  earf 
He  that  formed  the  eye  hath  he  not  eyes  ?  No,  but  shall  he  not  hear — 
shall  he  not  see  ?  And  why  does  he  say  so  ?  To  prevent  the  error  of 
humanizing  God  ;  of  attributing  members  or  corporeal  parts  to  the  infinite 
Spirit." 

*  "  Et  certes  une  asseurance  tant  lourde  monstre  qu'ils  pechent  tout 


16  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIV. 

guilty  of  the  gross  blasphemy  of  asserting  in  so  many  words 
that  God  is  ignorant  of  what  goes  forward  in  the  world — a 
mere  nothing  in  the  universe — the  Psalmist  very  properly 
charges  them  with  denying  God's  providential  government, 
and,  indeed,  avowedly  stripping  him  of  the  power  and  func- 
tion of  judge  and  governor,  since,  if  they  really  were  per- 
suaded as  they  ought  of  his  superintending  providence,  they 
would  honour  him  by  feeling  a  reverential  fear — as  I  have 
elsewhere  observed  at  greater  length.  He  intends  to  express 
the  lowest  and  most  abandoned  stage  of  depravity,  in  which 
the  sinner  casts  oflP  the  fear  of  God,  and  rushes  into  every 
excess.  Such  infatuated  conduct  would  have  been  inexcus- 
able even  in  heathens,  who  had  never  heard  of  a  divine  reve- 
lation ;  but  it  was  monstrous  in  men  who  had  been  brought 
up  from  infancy  in  the  knowledge  of  the  word,  to  show  such 
mockery  and  contempt  of  God. 

8.  Understand,  ye  stupid  among  the  people.  As  it  was 
execrable  impiety  to  deny  God  to  be  Judge  of  the  earth, 
the  Psalmist  severely  reprimands  their  folly  in  thinking  to 
elude  his  government,  and  even  succeed  by  artifices  in 
escaping  his  view.  The  expression,  stupid  among  the  people, 
is  stronger  than  had  he  simply  condemned  them  as  foolish. 
It  rendered  their  folly  more  inexcusable,  that  they  be- 
longed to  the  posterity  of  Abraham,  of  whom  Moses  said, 
(Deut.  iv.  7,)  "  What  people  is  there  so  great,  who  have  their 
gods  so  near  unto  them,  as  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  this  day 
come  down  unto  thee  ?  For  this  is  your  understanding  and 
wisdom  before  all  nations,  to  have  God  for  your  legislator." ' 
Perhaps,  however,  he  may  be  considered  as  addressing  the 
rulers  and  those  who  were  of  higher  rank  in  the  community, 
and  styling  them  degraded  among  the  people,  that  is,  no  better 
than  the  common  herd  of  the  vulgar.  Proud  men,  who  are 
apt  to  be  blinded  by  a  sense  of  their  importance,  require  to 

aiusi  comme  s'ils  ne  devoyent  jamais  estre  appelez  d  rendi-e  raisou  de 
leur  vie." — Fr. 

>  The  Latin  reads  here  as  follows  :— "  Quis  populus  tarn  nobilis,  qui 
deos  sibi  appropmquantes  habeat,  sicuti  hodie  Deus  tuus  ad  te  descendit? 
Hasc  enim  vestra  est  intelligentia  coram  cunctis  Geutibus,  et  sapientia, 
Dcum  habere  legislatorem." 


PSALM  XCIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  17 

be  brought  down,  and  made  to  see  that  in  God's  estimation 
they  are  no  better  than  others.  He  puts  them  on  a  level 
with  the  common  people,  to  humble  their  self-complacency; 
or  we  may  suppose  that  be  hints  with  an  ironical  and 
sarcastic  allusion  to  their  boasted  greatness,  that  they  were 
distinguished  above  others  chiefly  for  pre-eminent  folly — 
adding,  at  the  same  time,  as  an  additional  aggravation,  that 
they  were  obstinate  in  their  adherence  to  it ;  for  as  much  is 
implied  in  the  question,  TVhen  will  ye  be  icise?  We  might  con- 
sider it  an  unnecessary  assertion  of  Divine  Providence  to 
put  the  question  to  the  wicked.  Shall  not  he  who  made  the 
ear  hear  ?  because  there  are  none  so  abandoned  as  openly  to 
deny  God's  cognizance  of  events ;  but,  as  I  have  observed 
above,  the  flagrant  audacity  and  self-security  which  most 
men  display  in  contradicting  his  will,  is  a  sufficient  proof  that 
they  have  supplanted  God  from  their  imaginations,  and  sub- 
stituted a  mere  dead  idol  in  his  place,  since,  did  they  really 
believe  him  to  be  cognizant  of  their  actions,  they  would  at 
least  show  as  much  regard  to  him  as  to  their  fellow-creatures, 
in  whose  presence  they  feel  some  measure  of  restraint,  and 
are  prevented  from  sinning  by  fear  and  respect.  To  arouse 
them  from  this  stupidity,  the  Psalmist  draws  an  argument  from 
the  very  order  of  nature,  inferring  that  if  men  both  see  and 
hear,  by  virtue  of  faculties  which  they  have  received  from 
God  the  Creator,  it  is  impossible  that  God  himself,  who 
formed  the  eye  and  the  ear,  should  not  possess  the  most  perfect 
observation. 

10.  He  that  chastiseth  the  nations^  shall  not  he  correct? 
He  would  have  them  argue  from  the  greater  to  the  less,  that 
if  God  did  not  spare  even  Avhole  nations,  but  visits  their 
iniquity  with  punishment,  they  could  not  imagine  that  he 
would  suffer  a  mere  handful  of  individuals  to  escape  with 
impunity.  The  comparison  intended,  however,  may  possibly 
be  between  the  Gentiles  and  the  Jews.  If  God  punished  the 
heathen  nations,  who  had  not  heard  his  word,  with  much 
severity,  the  Jews  might  expect  that  they,  who  had  been 
familiarized  to  instruction  in  his  house,  would  receive  still 
sharper  correction,  and  that  he  would  vindicate  his  justice 

VOL.  IV.  B 


18  COMMENIARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIV. 

most  in  that  nation  over  which  he  had  chosen  to  preside. 
Still  the  former  sense  of  the  passage  appeal's  to  me  preferable, 
That  it  is  folly  in  any  number  of  individuals  to  flatter  them- 
selves with  impunity,  when  they  see  God  inflicting  public 
punishment  upon  collective  people.  Some  think  there  is  an 
exclusive  allusion  to  the  siornal  and  memorable  instances  of 
Divine  judgment  recorded  in  Scripture,  as  in  the  destruction 
of  Sodom  with  fire  from  heaven,  (Gen.  xix.)  and  of  the 
whole  human  family  by  the  flood,  (Gen.  vii.)  But  the 
simpler  meaning  is  best,  That  it  were  the  height  of  madness 
in  individuals  to  think  that  they  could  escape  when  nations 
perish.  In  adding  that  God  teacheth  men  knowledge,^  the 
Psalmist  glances  at  the  overweening  confidence  of  such  as 
despise  God,  and  pride  themselves  in  their  acuteness  and 
shrewdness,  as  we  find  Isaiah  denouncing  a  woe  against 
those  crafty  enemies  of  God  who  dig  deep,  that  they  may 
hide  themselves  from  his  sight,  (chap.  xxix.  15.)  It  is  a 
disease  prevalent  enough  in  the  world  still.  We  know  the 
refuges  under  covert  of  which  both  courtiers  and  lawyers 
take  occasion  to  indulge  in  shameless  mockery  of  God.  ^  It 
is  as  if  the  Psalmist  had  said — You  think  to  elude  God 
through  the  confidence  which  you  have  in  your  acute  under- 
standings, and  would  pretend  to  dispute  the  knowledge  of 
the  Almighty,  when,  in  truth,  all  the  knowledge  which  is  in 
the  world  is  but  as  a  drop  from  his  own  inexhaustible  fulness. 

11.  Jehovah  knoweth  the  thoughts  of  men,^  that  they  are  vain.* 

'  In  our  English  Bible,  the  words  shall  not  he  know?  are  added. 
"  But  this  is  not  acknowledged  by  the  original  nor  by  any  of  the  versions. 
Indeed  it  is  not  necessary  ;  for,  either  the  words  contain  a  simple  pro- 
position, '  It  is  he  who  teacheth  man  knowledge ;'  or  this  clause  should 
be  read  in  connection  with  v.  11,  'Jehovah,  who  teacheth  man  know- 
ledge, he  knoweth  the  devices  of  man,  that  they  are  vanity.'  As  he 
teaches  knowledge  to  man,  must  He  not  know  all  the  reasonings  and 
devices  of  the  human  heart  ?" — Dr  Adam  Clarke. 

2  "  Mais  nous  voyons  avec  quelles  couvertures  tant  les  courtisans  que 
les  gens  de  justice  obscurcissent  leurs  entendemens  afin  que  sans  aucune 
vergongne  ils  osent  bien  se  moquer  de  Dieu." — Fr. 

3  Horsley  reads,  "the  devices  of  man:"  and  asking,  Did  not  St 
Paul  for  cn^  read  ony,  or  rather  any  ?  refers  to  1  Cor.  iii.  20. 

*  The  original  word  ^^n  is  "  from  'pin,  which  fii-st  signifies  to  vanish, 

-   T 

or  come  to  nought,  as  in  Jer.  li.  5,  '  They  walked  after  Tinnn,  vanity, 


PSALM  XCIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  19 

12.  Blessed  is  the  min  tohom  thou  heist  iastrazteal,  0  Goi  !  and 

taught  out  of  thy  law  ; 

13.  To  give  him  rest  from  daysof  esil,  %c\ilst  thepitis  digged  for 

the  loicked. 

11.  Jehovah  knoiveth  the  thoughts  of  rmn,  Sfc.  IIg  agaia 
insists  upon  the  folly  of  men  in  seeking  to  wrap  themselves  up 
in  darkness,  and  hide  themselves  from  the  view  of  God.  To 
prevent  them  from  flattering  themselves  with  vain  pretexts, 
he  reminds  them  that  the  mists  of  delusion  will  be  scattered 
at  once  when  they  come  to  stand  in  God's  presence.  No- 
thing can  avail  them,  so  long  as  God  from  heaven  stamps 
vanity  upon  their  deepest  counsels.  The  Psalmist's  design 
in  citing  them  before  the  Judge  of  all,  is  to  make  them 
thoroughly  search  and  try  their  own  hearts ;  for  the  great 
cause  of  their  self-security  lay  in  failing  to  realize  God, 
burying  all  distinction  between  right  and  wrong,  and,  so  far 
as  that  was  possible,  hardening  themselves  against  all  feeling. 
They  might  contrive  to  soothe  their  minds  by  means  like  these, 
but  he  tells  them  that  God  ridiculed  all  such  trifling.  The 
truth  may  be  a  plain  one,  and  well  known  ;  but  the  Psalmist 
states  a  fact  which  many  overlook,  and  which  we  would  do 
well  to  remember.  That  the  wicked,  when  they  attempt  to 
hide  themselves  under  subtile  refuges,  cannot  deceive  God, 
and   necessarily    deceive    themselves.       Some    read — Theij 

I^SiT'li  and  vanished,  or  came  to  nought ;'  and  if  understood  here  in  this 
sense,  it  must  signify  vanishing,  transient,  that  soon  comes  to  nothing ; 
and  accordingly  the  Syriac  renders  it  a  vapour.  But  there  is  another 
notion  of  ^2r\ ;  it  is  put  metaphorically  for  '  stultescere,'  'to  grow  foolish.' 

~    T 

Thus  inPs.  Isii.  11,  it  is  best  rendered  from  the  Hebrew,  'Trust  not  in 
oppression  and  rapine,  i'?nnn"'?X,  become  not  vain,'  i.  e.,  fools,  to 
signify  that  those  that  so  trust,  that  depend  on  unlawful  means  for 
enriching  themselves,  will  certainly  be  deceived,  find  this  the  most  per- 
fect/0% in  the  event.  And  the  term  fol/i/  being  that  by  which  the 
Atheist  is  most  frequently  expressed  in  Scripture,  will  be  most  agreeable 
to  this  place,  where  the  Atheist's  cogitations  are  described,  v.  7,  confident 
of  God's  not  seeing  nor  regarding;  which  thoughts  of  his,  as  they  are 
Atheistical,  and  so  false,  and  so  foolish  in  one  sense,  as  folli/ is  ignorance, 
so  are  they  most  impudent,  (which  is  practical  and  the  greatest  folli/,) 
will  never  secure  his  wicked  actions  of  impunity,  but,  on  the  contrary,  will 
betray  him  to  all  the  ruin  in  the  world.  And  to  this  sense  it  is,  that  in 
verse  8  we  find  it  said  in  the  like  style,  '  Understand,  O  ye  brutish  ; 
and  ye  fools,  when  will  ye  be  wise  ?'  and  so  this  is  the  adequate  notion 
of  the  word  here." — Hammond. 


20  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIV. 

(that  is,  men  themselves)  are  vanity;  but  this  is  a  forced 
rendering,  and  the  form  of  expression  is  one  which  both  in  the 
Greek  and  Hebrew  may  be  translated,  God  knows  that  the 
thoughts  of  men  are  vain. 

12.  Blessed  is  the  man  whom  thou  hast  instructed,  O  God ! 
The  Psalmist  now  passes  from  the  language  of  censure  to  that 
ot  consolation,  comforting  himself  and  others  of  the  Lord's 
people  with  the  truth,  that  though  God  might  afflict  them  for 
a  time,  he  consulted  their  true  interests  and  safety.     At  no 
period  of  life  is  this  a  truth  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  re- 
member, called  as  we  are  to  a  continued  warfare.     God  may 
allow  us  intervals  of  ease,  in  consideration  of  our  weakness, 
but  would  always  have  us  exposed  to  calamities  of  various 
kinds.     The  audacious  excesses  to  which  the  wicked  proceed 
we  have  already  noticed.     Were  it  not  for  the  comfortable 
consideration  that  they  are  a  blessed  people  whom  God  exer- 
cises with  the  cross,  our  condition  would  be  truly  miserable. 
We  are  to  consider,  that  in  calling  us  to  be  his  people,  he 
has  separated  us  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  to  participate  a 
blessed  peace  in  the  mutual  cultivation  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness.    The  Church  is  often  cruelly  oppressed  by  tyrants 
under  colour  of  law — the  very  case  of  which  the  Psalmist 
complains  in  this  psalm ;   for  it  is  evident  that  he  speaks  of 
domestic  enemies,  pretending  to  be  judges  in  the  nation. 
Under  such  circumstances,  a  carnal  judgment  would  infer, 
that  if  God  really  concerned  himself  in  our  welfare  he  would 
never  suffer  these  persons  to  perpetrate  such  enormities.     To 
prevent  this,  the  Psalmist  would  have  us  distrust  our  own  ideas 
of  things,  and  feel  the  necessity  of  that  wisdom  which  comes 
from  above.     I  consider  the  passage  to  mean  that  it  is  only 
in  the  Lord's  school  we  can  ever  learn  to  maintain  composure 
of  mind,  and  a  posture  of  patient  expectation  and  trust  under 
the  pressure  of  distress.      The  Psalmist  declares  that  the 
wisdom  which  would  bear  us  onward  to  the  end,  with  an  in- 
ward peace  and  courage  under  long-continued  trouble,  is  not 
natural  to  any  of  us,  but  must  come  from  God.^   Accordingly, 

'  "  Les  hommes  ne  sont  point  si  sages,  qu'au  milieu  des  afflictions  con- 


PSALM  XCIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  21 

he  exclaims,  that  those  are  the  truly  blessed  whom  God  has 
habituated  through  his  word  to  the  endurance  of  the  cross, 
and  prevented  from  sinking  under  adversity  by  the  secret 
supports  and  consolations  of  his  own  Spirit. 

The  words  with  which  the  verse  begins,  Blessed  is  the  man 
whom  thou  hast  instructed^  have  no  doubt  a  reference  to  chas- 
tisements and  experience  of  the  cross,  but  they  also  compre- 
hend the  gift  of  inward  illumination ;  and  afterwards  the 
Psalmist  adds,  that  this  wisdom,  which  is  imparted  by  God 
inwardly,  is,  at  the  same  time,  set  forth  and  made  known  in 
the  Scriptures.'  In  this  way  he  puts  honour  upon  the  use  of 
the  written  word,  as  we  find  Paul  saying,  (Eom.  xv.  4,)  that 
all  things  "  were  written  for  our  learning,  that  we,  through 
patience  and  comfort  of  the  Scriptures,  might  have  hope." 
This  shows  from  what  quarter  we  are  to  derive  our  patience 
— the  oracles  of  God,  which  supply  us  with  matter  of  hope 
for  the  mitigation  of  our  griefs.  In  short,  what  the  Psalmist 
means  is  summarily  this :  Believers  must,  in  the  first  place, 
be  exhorted  to  exercise  patience,  not  to  despond  under  the 
cross,  but  wait  submissively  upon  God  for  deliverance ;  and 
next,  they  must  be  taught  how  this  grace  is  to  be  obtained, 
for  we  are  naturally  disposed  to  abandon  ourselves  to  despair, 
and  any  hope  of  ours  would  speedily  fail,  were  we  not  taught 
from  above  that  all  our  troubles  must  eventually  issue  in  sal- 
vation. We  have  here  the  Psalmist's  testimony  to  the  truth. 
That  the  word  of  God  provides  us  with  abundant  ground  of 
comfort,  and  that  none  who  rightly  avails  himself  of  it  need 
ever  count  himself  unhappy,  or  yield  himself  to  hopelessness 
and  despondency.  One  mark  by  which  God  distinguishes 
the  true  from  the  false  disciple  is,  that  of  his  being  ready 
and  prepared  to  bear  the  cross,  and  waiting  quietly  for  the 
Divine  deliverance,  Avithout  giving  way  to  fretfulness  and 
impatience.  A  true  patience  does  not  consist  in  presenting 
an  obstinate  resistance  to  evils,  or  in  that  unyielding  stub- 


tinuelles  ils  taschent  cl'im  courage  paisible  de  parvenir  jusques  au  but ; 
mais  qui  ceste  sagesse-la  leur  est  donnee  de  Dieu." — Fr. 

'  "  Mais  le  Prophete  adjouste  incoutinent,  que  ceste  sagesse  laquelle 
Dieu  nous  inspire  au  dedans,  nous  est  quant-et-quant  proposee  et  mani- 
festee  en  la  Loy." — Fr. 


22  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIV. 

bornness  which  passed  as  a  virtue  with  the  Stoics,  but  in  a 
ciieerful  submission  to  God,  based  upon  confidence  in  his 
grace.  On  this  account  it  is  Avith  good  reason  that  the 
Psahnist  begins  by  kiyiug  it  down  as  a  fundamental  truth, 
necessary  to  be  learned  by  all  the  Lord's  people.  That  the  end 
of  those  temporary  persecutions,  to  which  they  are  subjected, 
is  their  beins;  brought  at  last  to  a  blessed  rest  after  their 
enemies  have  done  their  worst.  lie  might  have  contented 
himself  with  saying,  that  the  truly  blessed  were  those  who 
had  learned  from  God's  word  to  bear  the  cross  patiently,  but 
that  he  might  the  more  readily  incline  them  to  a  cheerful 
acquiescence  in  the  Divine  disposals,  he  subjoined  a  statement 
of  the  consolation  which  tends  to  mitigate  the  grief  of  their 
spirits.  Even  supposing  that  a  man  should  bear  his  trials 
without  a  tear  or  a  sigh,  yet  if  he  champ  the  bit  in  sullen 
hopelessness — if  he  only  hold  by  such  principles  as  these, 
"  We  are  mortal  creatures,"  "  It  is  vain  to  resist  necessity, 
and  strive  against  fate,"  "  Fortune  is  blind" — this  is  obstinacy 
rather  than  patience,  and  there  is  concealed  opposition  to 
God  in  this  contempt  of  calamities  under  colour  of  fortitude. 
The  only  consideration  which  will  subdue  our  minds  to  a 
tractable  submission  is,  that  God,  in  subjecting  us  to  perse- 
cutions, has  in  view  our  being  ultimately  brought  into  the 
enjoyment  of  a  rest.  Wherever  there  reigns  this  persuasion 
of  a  rest  prepared  for  the  people  of  God,  and  a  refreshment 
provided  under  the  heat  and  turmoil  of  their  troubles,  that 
they  may  not  perish  with  the  world  around  tiiem,— this  will 
prove  enough,  and  more  than  enough,  to  alleviate  any  present 
bitterness  of  affliction. 

By  evil  days,  or  days  of  evil,  the  Psalmist  might  thus  mean 
the  everlasting  destruction  which  awaits  the  ungodly,  whom 
God  has  spared  for  a  certain  interval  Or  his  Avords  may  be 
expounded  as  signifying,  that  the  man  is  blessed  who  has 
learned  to  be  composed  and  tranquil  under  trials.  The  rest 
intended  would  then  be  that  of  an  inward  kind,  enjoyed  by 
the  believer  even  during  the  storms  of  adversity;  and  the 
scope  of  the  passage  would  be,  that  the  truly  happy  man  is 
he  who  has  so  far  profited,  by  the  word  of  God,  as  to  sustain 
the  assault  of  evils  from  without,  with  peace  and  composure. 


PSALM  XCIV.  TUB  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  23 

But  as  it  is  added,  ichilst  ^  the  pit  is  digged  for  the  wicked,  it 
would  seem  necessary,  in  order  to  bring  out  the  opposition 
contained  in  the  two  members  of  the  sentence,  to  suppose  that 
the  Psalmist  rather  commends  the  wisdom  of  those  who 
reckon  that  God  atHicts  them  with  a  view  to  saving  them 
from  destruction,  and  bringing  them  eventually  to  a  happy 
issue.  It  was  necessary  to  state  this  second  ground  of  comfort, 
because  our  hearts  cannot  fail  to  be  affected  with  the  most 
intense  grief  when  we  see  the  wicked  triumph,  and  no  Divine 
restraint  put  upon  them.  The  Psalmist  meets  the  temptation 
by  appropriately  reminding  us  that  the  wicked  are  left  upon 
earth,  just  as  a  dead  body  which  is  stretched  out  upon  a  bed, 
till  its  grave  be  dug.  Here  believers  are  warned  that,  if  they 
would  preserve  their  constancy,  they  must  mount  their  watch- 
tower,  as  Habakkuk  says,  (Hab.  ii.  1,)  and  take  a  view  in  the 
distance  of  God's  judgments.  They  shall  see  worldly  men 
rioting  in  worldly  delights,  and,  if  they  extend  their  view  no 
farther,  they  will  give  way  to  impatience.  But  it  would, 
moderate  their  grief,  would  they  only  remember  that  those 
houses  which  are  nominall}^  appropriated  to  the  living,  are,  in 
fact,  only  granted  to  the  dead,  until  their  grave  be  digged ; 
and  that,  though  they  remain  upon  earth,  they  are  already 
devoted  to  destruction.- 

^  In  our  English  Bible  it  is  "  wM  the  pit  be  digged :"  on  which 
Hammond,  who  gives  the  same  translation  as  Calvin,  comments  as  fol- 
lows : — "  The  rendering  of  nj?!  until^  in  this  place,  may  much  disturb  the 
sense,  and  make  it  believed  that  the  rest  yi  iCJOi/^'om  the  evil  days,  i.  e., 
from  persecution,  (see  Eph.  v.  16,)  which  God  gives  to  good  men,  is  to 
continue  till  the  pit  be  digged  for  the  ungodly,  i.  e.,  till  the  measure  of 
their  sins  be  filled  up,  and  so  destruction  be  ready  for  them :  whereas, 
the  contrary  of  this  is  evident,  that  either  the  destruction  of  the  wicked 
is  first,  and  the  quiet  and  rest  of  the  good  (oppressed  by  them)  a  natural 
effect  of  that,  aud  so  subsequent  to  it ;  or  that  both  of  them  are  of  the 
same  date,  at  once  '  tribulation  to  them  that  trouble  you,  and  to  you  who 
are  troubled  rest,'  2  Thess.  i.  6,  7.  And  this  is  evidently  the  meaning  of 
it  here,  and  so  will  be  discerned,  if  only  the  nx  be  rendered  diim,  u-hitst, 
(as  it  is  elsewhere  used,  Jonah  iv.  2,  TllTl  IN,  '  whilst  I  Avas,'  Job  i.  16, 
"im»  nr  1{<)  '  whilst  he  was  speaking,')  for  then  thus  it  will  run  very ' 

fitly,  '  That  thou  mayst  give  him  rest — whilst  the  pit  is  digged '  " 

Horsley  reads  the  verse — 

''  To  produce  ease  for  him  out  of  the  days  of  adversity, 
Whilst  the  pit  is  digging  for  the  impious." 

2  "  Que  les  maisons  qui  sont  destinees  aux  vivans,  pour  un  peu  do 
temps  sont  bien  concedees  aux  morts  cependanl  qu'un  leur  fait  leur  fosse ; 


24  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  XCIV. 

14,  Surely  Jehovah  will  not  cast  off  his  people,  and  he  ivill  not 

forsake  his  inheritance. 

15.  But  judgment  ivill  return  unto  righteousness,  and  all  the 

upright  in  heart  after  him. 

14.  Surely/  Jehovah  will  not  cast  off  his  people.  He  enforces 
the  same  truth  which  he  had  stated  above  in  still  clearer 
terms,  denying  it  to  be  possible  that  God  should  cast  off  his 
people,  whom  he  had  chosen  in  a  manner  to  be  his  inheritance. 
When  assailed  by  afflictions,  we  should  fly  to  this  considera- 
tion, as  a  sanctuary  of  refuge,  that  we  are  God's  people, 
gratuitously  adopted  into  his  family,  and  that  he  must 
necessarily  have  a  most  intimate  and  tender  regard  for  our 
safety,  having  promised  to  watch  as  carefully  over  his  Church 
as  if  it  were  his  own  heritage.  ^Ye  are  thus  again  taught 
that  our  patience  will  soon  give  way  and  fail,  unless  the 
tumult  of  carnal  suggestions  be  allayed  by  a  knowledge  of 
the  Divine  favour  shining  in  upon  our  souls. 

15.  But  judgment  will  return  unto  righteousness.  In  the  dark 
season  of  affliction,  it  is  not  easy  to  recognize  the  secret  love 
which  God  even  then  bears  to  his  own  children,  and  the 
Psalmist  adduces  another  ground  of  comfort,  in  the  considera- 
tion that  God  will  eventually  put  an  end  to  the  confusions 
which  perplex  them,  and  reduce  matters  to  order.  The  form 
of  expression  used  by  the  Psalmist  is  a  little  obscure,  and 
this  has  led  some  to  read  the  first  part  of  the  verse,  as  if  it 
contained  two  distinct  clauses— ^/ws/'^'ce  will  return  at  the  end, 
and  then,  judgment  will  return.  This  is  a  violent  wresting 
of  the  context.  I  have  no  doubt  the  Psalmist  meant  to  say 
that  judgment  would  be  fitted  or  conformed  to  justice.  And 
by  judgment  here  is  meant,  as  in  many  other  places,  the 
government  or  public  state  of  matters.  The  confusion  which 
prevails  in  the  world,  seems  to  argue  some  defect  or  unrighte- 
ousness of  administration ;  and  he  holds  out  to  us  that  it 
shall  be  well  in  the  issue.     More  is  said  than  merely  that  men 

et  qu'en  ceste  fa^on  ceux  qui  neantmoins  sont  destiness  ^  perdition,  de- 
meurent  en  vie,"  tfcc. — Fr. 


PSALM  XCIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  25 

who  indulged  in  reckless  oppression  would  be  brought  back 
to  equitable  dealing.  A  deeper  meaning  is  intended,  That 
God,  when  he  interposed  to  restore  the  condition  of  his 
people,  would  bring  forth  openly  to  the  light  his  justice  which 
had  lain  concealed  ;  by  which  we  are  not  to  understand  that 
he  ever  deviates  the  least  in  his  providence  from  the  strictest 
rectitude,  only  there  is  not  always  that  harmony  and  arrange- 
ment which  might  make  his  righteousness  apparent  to  man's 
view,  and  the  correction  of  this  inequality  is  here  called 
justice  of  government.'^  As  the  sun's  light  is  hid  from  view 
at  night,  or  at  a  cloudy  season,  so  when  the  wicked  perse- 
cute the  righteous,  and  are  allowed  to  indulge  in  iniquity 
without  restraint,  the  Divine  justice  is  obscured  by  the  clouds 
which  are  thus  interposed  between  us  and  the  providence  of 
God,  and  judgment  is  in  a  manner  separated  from  justice.  But 
when  things  are  brought  back  again  to  their  proper  state,  jus- 
tice andgovernment  are  seen  to  harmonize  perfectly  together  in 
the  equality  which  prevails.^  Faith,  no  doubt,  should  enable 
us  to  discern  the  justice  of  God  even  when  things  ai'e  most 
dark  and  disordered  ;  but  the  passage  speaks  of  what  would 
be  obvious  to  sense  and  actual  observation,  and  asserts  that 
the  justice  of  God  would  shine  as  the  sky  when  all  is 
calm  and  serene. 

And  all  that  are  upright  in  heart  after  him.  Some  read, 
ajler  it,  that  is,  after  righteousness ;  but  as  by  righteousness 
here  we  are  to  understand  the  equal  and  harmonious  go- 
vernment which  prevails  when  God  takes  vengeance  upon 
the  wicked  and  delivers  his  own  people,  this  rendering  will 
scarcely  suit.  It  would  rather  seem  that  God  himself  is 
to  be  understood,  so  that  the  relative  is  here  without  an 
antecedent.  In  the  Hebrew,  when  mention  is  made  of 
God,  the  relative  is  not  unfrequently  put  instead  of  the 
name.  The  words  then  mean,  that  upon  God's  restoi'ing 
order  in  the  world,  his  people  would  be  encouraged  to  follow 

'  '•  Mais  pource  qu'au  regard  dcs  liommes  ou  ne  voit  pas  tousjoiirs  inie 
telle  moderation  ou  temperature  que  sa  justice  soit  appai-cnte  ;  laquelle 
est  nommee  Gouvernement  juste,  apres  que  I'inequalite  est  corrigee." — 
Ft. 

'  "  Ou  voit  un  tresbou  accord  entre  la  dominatiou  et  justice  en  une 
equalite  biea  moderec ." — Fr. 


26  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIV. 

him  with  greater  alacrity.  Even  when  called  to  bear  the 
cross,  they  sigh  after  him  under  their  troubles  and  distresses, 
but  it  binds  them  more  closely  to  his  service  when  they  see 
his  hand  stretched  forth  in  this  visible  manner,  and  sensibly 
experience  his  deliverance. 

16.  Who  will  rise  up  for  me  against  my  adversaries  ?  who  will 

stand  up  for  me'^  against  the  workers  of  iniquity'^ 

17.  Unless  Jehovah  had  been  my  help,  my  soul  had  well  nigh 

dwelt  in  silence,^ 

18.  If  I  said,  3Iy  foot  has  fallen,  thy  kindness,  0  Jehovah  !  has 

held  me  up.^ 

19.  In  the  multitude   of  my  thoughts,^   thy  comforts  within  me 

delight  my  soul.^ 

IG.  Who  will  rise  up  for  me  against  jut/  adversaries  ?  Here 
the  Psalmist  points  out,  in  a  lively  and  graphic  manner,  how 
destitute  he  was  of  all  human  aid.  As  if  at  the  moment  in 
danger,  he  cries  out — Who  will  stand  up  for  me?  Who  will 
oppose  himself  to  my  enemies  ?  And  immediately  afterwards 
he  replies,  thathad not  God  helped  him, he  must  have  despaired 
of  safety.  In  declaring  that  he  had  been  thus  miraculously 
rescued  from  death,  when  deserted  by  all  the  world,  he  com- 
mends the  more  God's  kindness  and  grace.  When  men 
aid  us,  they  are  only  instruments  by  which  the  grace  of 
God  works ;  but  we  are  apt  not  to  recognize  God's  hand 

'  Horsley  reads,  "Who  will  set  himself  on  my  side?"  The  oi-iginal 
words  are  t^  Di'Tl^""'©-  "The  verb  ^VTlS"  sf^ys  this  critic,  "  I  take  to 
be  a  military  term  ;  literally,  'to  take  one's  place  in  battalion.'" 

2  "The  Hebrew  is  ntO)!-  Sepulchrum,  Pagn.  Silentium,  Mont.  The 
Septnagint  has  tw  «Bj7  ;  and  Jerome  in  inferno.'^ — Reeves'  Collation  of  the 
Hebrew  a?id  Greek  text  of  the  Psalms. 

^  "  ''3iyD\  yisadeni^  propped  me.  It  is  a  metaphor  taken  from  any 
{hva^  falling.,  that  is  propped.,  shored  tip.,  or  buttressed.  How  often  does 
the  mercy  of  God  thus  prevent  the  rnin  of  weak  believers,  and  of  those 
M'ho  have  been  unfaithful ?' — Dr  Adam  Clarke. 

*  In  the  Septuagint  and  Vulgate,  it  is  "  in  the  multitude  of  my  sorrows." 

o  Horsley  reads  the  whole  verse  thus  : — 

"  In  the  multitude  of  my  anxieties  within  me, 
Tliy  comforts  cheered  my  soul." 

And  he  observes,  "The  original  word  ')yt^'y:>>'>  signifies  '  to  cause  to 
leap  or  dance  for  joy  ;'  but  the  English  language  will  not  bear  an  appli- 
cation of  this  image  to  the  soul ;  tliough  we  say,  '  to  make  the  Aearf  leap 
for  joy.' " 


PSALM  XCIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  27 

when  we  see  any  subordinate  agency  in  the  deliverance.  He 
speaks  of  his  life  divelling  zw  silence,  (verse  17,)  for  the  dead 
lie  in  the  grave  Avithout  feeling  or  strength.  Thus  the 
Psalmist  owns  that  there  was  no  means  by  which  his  life 
could  have  been  preserved,  had  not  God  interposed  without 
delay. 

18.  If  I  said,  My  foot  has  fallen.  What  is  said  in  this 
verse  confirms  the  preceding  statement.  The  more  to  com- 
mend God's  kindness  and  power,  he  declares  that  it  was  no 
common  danger  from  which  he  had  been  rescued,  but  in  a 
manner  from  present  death.  The  import  of  the  language  is, 
that  death  stared  him  so  full  in  view,  that  he  despaired  ot 
himself,  as  Paul  speaks  of  having  had  the  message  of  death 
in  himself,  when  his  condition  was  desperate,  and  he  had 
given  up  hope  of  life,  (2  Cor.  i.  9.)  The  fact  of  the  Psalmist 
having  been  delivered  after  he  had  considered  death  certain, 
made  the  Divine  interposition  the  more  conspicuous.  If  we 
understand  him  as  speaking  of  temporal  death  only  in  the 
expression,  3ft/  foot  has  fallen — there  is  nothing  unaccount- 
able in  the  circumstance  of  his  having  despaired,^  as  God 
often  prolongs  the  life  of  his  people  in  the  world,  when  they 
had  lost  hope,  and  were  preparing  for  their  departure. 
Possibly,  however,  the  Psalmist  only  means  that  this  was  the 
language  of  sense  ;  and  this  is  the  more  probable,  because  we 
have  already  seen  that  he  never  ceased  praying  to  God — a 
proof  that  he  had  still  some  hope.  The  next  verse  affords 
still  further  proof,  for  there  he  tells  us  that  his  afflictions  were 
always  mixed  Avith  some  comfort.  By  thoughts,  he  means 
anxious  and  perplexing  cares,  which  would  have  overwhelmed 
him  had  not  consolation  been  communicated  to  him  from 
above.  We  learn  this  truth  from  the  passage.  That  God 
interposes  in  behalf  of  his  people,  Avith  a  due  regard  to  the 
magnitude  of  their  trials  and  distresses,  and  at  the  very 
moment  which  is  necessary,  enlargirg  them  in  their  straits. 


!  "Si  nons  entcodons  le  glisscment  du pkd,  sciikiiiciit  dc  la  raort  cor- 
porelle,  il  ne  sera  point  absurde  dc  dire  que  le  Tniplietc  ait  csle  eu  cc 
desespoir.'  — Fr. 


28  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIV. 

as  we  find  stated  in  other  places.  The  heavier  our  calamities 
grow,  we  should  hope  that  Divine  grace  will  only  be  the  more 
powerfully  manifested  in  comforting  us  under  them,  (Ps.  iv.  1 ; 
cxviii.  5.)  But  should  we  through  weakness  of  the  flesh  be 
vexed  and  tormented  by  anxious  cares,  we  must  be  satisfied 
with  the  remedy  which  the  Psalmist  here  speaks  of  in  such 
high  terms.  Believers  are  conscious  of  two  very  different 
states  of  mind.  On  the  one  hand,  they  are  afflicted  and  dis- 
tressed with  various  fears  and  anxieties ;  on  the  other,  there 
is  a  secret  joy  communicated  to  them  from  above,  and  this  in 
accommodation  to  their  necessity,  so  as  to  preserve  them  from 
being  swallowed  up  by  any  complication  or  force  of  calamity 
which  may  assail  them. 

20.  Shall  the  throne  of  iniquities  have  fellowship  with  thee,  fram- 

ing molestation  for  law?^ 

21.  They  will  gather  together  against  the  soul  of  the  righteous, 

and  condemn  the  innocent  blood. 

22.  But  Jehovah  has  been  my  fortress,  and  my  God,  for  the  rock 

of  my  confidence. 

23.  And  he  shall  repay  their  own  iniquity  upon  them,  and  shall 

cut  them  off  in  their  wickedness  ;  Jehovah  our  God  shall 
cut  them  off'. 

20.  Shall  the  throne  of  iniquities  ham  fellowship  with  thee  ? 
He  again  derives  an  argument  for  confidence  from  the  nature 
of  God,  it  being  impossible  that  he  should  show  favour  to  the 
wicked,  or  sanction  their  evil  devices.  With  God  for  their 
enemy,  how  could  they  escape  being  destroyed  ?  The  words 
have  greater  force  from  being  thrown  into  the  form  of  a  ques- 
tion, to  show  how  completely  opposed  all  sin  is  to  the  divine 
nature.     The  term  throne  is  used,  because  those  against  whom 

'  Dr  Kennicott  reads,  "  sub  specie  legis ;  "  in  which  he  is  followed  by 
Horsley  :  "  Framing  oppression  under  the  pretence  of  law."  Fry's  ver- 
sion of  the  whole  verse  stands  thus : — 

*'Is  the  tribunal  of  iniquity  in  accord  with  thee  ? 
Decreeing  wrong  against  me  by  law  ?  " 

"  Legal  forms,"  he  remarks,  "  have  often  been  given  to  the  proceedings 
of  the  persecutors  of  God's  people ;  and  the  sacred  institutions,  both  of 
the  civil  and  religious  authorities,  have  been  perverted  to  be  the  tools  of 
oppression." 


rSALM  XCIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  29 

the  present  charge  is  brought  were  not  common  robbers  or 
assassins,  who  are  universally  recognized  as  infamous,  but 
tyrants  who  persecuted  the  Lord's  people  under  colour  of 
law.  These,  although  occupying  the  throne  which  has  been 
consecrated  to  God,  have  stained  and  polluted  it  with  their 
crimes,  and  therefore  have  nothing  in  common  with  it.  The 
meaning  is  brought  out  more  clearly  in  the  subsequent  clause 
of  the  verse,  where  they  are  declared  to  be  persons  utterly 
estranged  from  God,  yvho  frame  molestation  for  laic,  or,  as  the 
Hebrew  word  pH?  chok,  signifies,  decree  of  law,  or  statute  order. 
The  Psalmist  aims  at  those  profligate  judges  who,  under  pre- 
tence of  pursuing  the  strict  course  of  office,  perpetrate  the 
worst  species  of  enormities.  Judges  of  this  abandoned  char- 
acter, as  we  know,  with  no  other  view  than  to  retain  posses- 
sion of  a  specious  name  for  integrity,  invent  various  excuses 
to  defend  their  infamous  oppressions.  The  meaning  of  the 
Psalmist  is  apparent  then  ;  and  it  is  this,  that  honourable  as 
a  throne  may  be,  so  far  as  the  name  goes,  it  ceases  to  have 
any  worth  or  estimation  with  God  when  abused  by  wicked 
men ;  for  iniquity  can  never  meet  with  his  approbation. 

21.  They  will  gather  together  against  the  soul  of  the  righteous. 
As  the  Hebrew  word  TlJl,  gadad,  or  ''W^,  gud,^  signifies  to 
collect  forces  or  a  band  of  men,  the  Psalmist  evidently  inti- 
mates that  he  had  to  do  with  leading  persons  of  influence, 
and  not  with  those  merely  in  private  station.  The  term  im- 
plies too,  that  it  was  not  merely  one  or  two  private  individuals 
who  persecuted  him,  and  others  of  the  Lord's  people,  but  a 
public  convention.  Melancholy  and  disgraceful  must  the  state 
of  matters  have  been,  when  the  wicked  thus  ruled  in  lawful 
assembly,  and  those  who  formed  the  college  of  judges  were 
no  better  than  a  band  of  robbers.  The  case  becomes  doubly 
vexatious,  when  the  innocent  victims  of  oppression  are  not 
only  injured,  but  have  a  stigma  fixed  upon  their  character. 
And  what  more  unseemly  spectacle,  than  when  the  Avhole 
course  of  judicial  administration  is  just  a  foul  conspiracy 

^  "  niiS  (ja-ghod-du,)  will  collect  in  a  troop.  Targ.  '  will  heap  toge- 
ther eNols ; '  LXX.  '  will  hunt  after.'  From  mj,  ran  by  troops,  invaded 
with  an  army." — Bythner. 


30  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIV. 

against  good  and  innocent  men  ?^  The  instance  here  recorded 
should  prepare  us  for  a  like  emergency,  if  it  chance  to  occur 
in  our  own  day,  when  the  wicked  may  be  permitted,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  to  mount  the  seat  of  judgment,  and  launch 
destruction  upon  the  upright  and  the  righteous,  under  colour 
of  law.  Intolerable  as  it  might  seem  at  first  sight,  that  per- 
sons innocent  of  any  ci'ime  should  meet  with  cruel  persecu- 
tion, even  from  the  hands  of  judges,  so  as  to  be  loaded  with 
ignominy,  we  see  that  God  tried  his  children  in  other  times 
by  this  double  species  of  oppression,  and  that  we  must  learn 
to  bear  submissively  not  only  with  unrighteous  violence,  but 
with  charges  most  injurious  to  our  character,  and  most  un- 
deserved.^ 

22.  But  Jehovah  has  been  my  fortress.  The  Psalmist  de- 
clares, that  great  as  were  the  extremities  to  which  he  had 
been  reduced,  he  had  found  sufficient  help  in  the  single  pro- 
tection of  God  ;  thus  passing  a  new  commendation  upon  his 
power,  which  had  been  such  as  alone,  and  unaided,  to  put 
down  the  mightiest  endeavours — all  the  force  and  the  fury  of 
his  numerous  enemies.  He  does  more  than  say  that  God 
was  a  fortress,  where  he  might  hide  with  safety,  and  from  the 
top  of  which  he  could  bid  defiance  to  every  assault.  Having 
congratulated  himself  upon  the  divine  protection,  he  proceeds 
to  denounce  destruction  upon  his  enemies ;  for  it  is  to  be 
considered  as  God's  special  prerogative  to  make  the  evil  which 
his  enemies  devise  against  his  people  recoil  upon  their  own 
heads.  The  mere  defeating,  and  frustrating  their  attempts, 
would  afford  no  inconsiderable  display  of  divine  justice;  but 
the  judgment  of  God  is  far  more  marvellously  manifested 
when  they  fall  into  the  pit  which  they  themselves  had  pre- 
pared, when  all  the  subtile  plans  which  they  have  adopted 
for  ruining  the  innocent  end  in  their  being  destroyed  by  their 
own  craftiness,  and  when  having  done  their  utmost,  they  fall 

1  "Deinde  quid  minus  consentaneum,  quam  ut  tota  forensis  ratio 
nihil  aliud  sit  quam  scelesta  conspiratio  ad  insontes  damnandos  ?" — Lat. 

2  "  Toutesfois  pour  autant  que  Dieu  a  jadis  exerce  ses  serviteurs  en 
I'une  et  I'autre  sorte  de  tentation,  apprenons  non  seulement  de  porter 
patiemmcnt  une  violence  injuste,  mais  aussi  les  caloniu^cs  iudign^s," 
&ic.—Fr. 


PSALM  XCV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  31 

by  their  own  sword.  We  are  slow  to  believe  that  this  shall 
be  the  issue,  and  accordingly  it  is  said  twice — he  shall  cut 
them  off— the  Lord  our  God  shall  cut  them  off.  It  may  be 
noticed  also,  that  the  Psalmist  in  using  the  expression  our 
God,  holds  out  a  ground  of  encouragement  to  the  faithful, 
reminding  us  of  what  he  had  said  above,  that  God  will 
not  forget  his  own  inheritance,  even  his  people  whom  he  has 
brought  unto  the  faith  of  himself. 


PSALM  XCV. 

The  inspired  penman  of  this  psalm,  whoever  he  was,^  in  exhorting  the 
Jews  to  praise  God  in  solemn  assembly,  states  two  grounds  Avhy  God 
should  be  praised  ;  the  one,  that  he  sustains  by  his  power  the  world 
which  he  created,  the  other,  that  he  had  of  his  free  grace  adopted  the 
Church  into  a  gracious  relationship  with  himself.  As  many  take  God's 
praises  into  their  lips  in  a  hypocritical  manner,  he  exhorts  the  people 
at  the  same  time  to  be  sincere,  serious,  and  devoted  in  the  service, 
and  to  show  by  the  tenor  of  their  life  that  they  had  not  been  chosen 
in  vain.  The  more  effectually  to  guard  them  against  hypocrisy,  he 
mentions  that  their  fathers  from  the  beginning  had  been  of  a  stubborn 
spirit,  and  chargeable  with  ingratitude  to  God ;  and  he  takes  notice  of 
the  di'eadful  punishment  which  fell  upon  them,  and  which  might  well 
deter  then-  childi-en  from  following  in  the  footsteps  of  their  rebellious- 
ness. 

1.   Come,  let  us  rejoice  before  Jehovah ;  let  us  make  a  joyful  noise 
to  the  Mock  of  our  salvation.^ 

'  This  psalm  has  no  inscription,  but  the  Septuagint,  Vulgate,  ^thiopic, 
Arabic,  and  Syriac  versions,  and  the  apostle  Paul  in  Heb.  iv.  7,  ascribe 
it  to  David  ;  so  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  one  of  the  composi- 
tions of  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel. 

*  Horsley  reads  the  second  clause,  "Let  us  raise  the  loud  peal  of 
melody  to  the  Rock  of  our  salvation  ;"  on  which  he  has  the  following  note : 
"  The  verb  yiin  signifies  to  make  a  loud  sound  of  any  sort,  either  with 
the  voice  or  with  instruments.  In  the  Psalms  it  generally  refers  to  the 
mingled  din  of  voices  and  various  instruments,  in  the  temple-service. 
This  wide  sense  of  the  word  cannot  be  expressed  otherwise  in  the  Eng- 


32  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCV. 

2.  Let  us  come  before  his  face  with  praise,  and  make  a  joyful 

noise  before  him  in  psalms. 

3.  For  Jehovah  is  a  great  God,  and  a  great  King,  above  all  gods. 

4.  Because  in  his  hand  are  the  deep  places  of  the  earth,^  and  the 

heights  of  the  mountains  are  his. 

5.  Because  the  sea  is  his,  and  he  made  it,  and  his  hands  formed 

the  dry  land. 

1.  Come,  let  us  rejoice  before  Jehovah.  This  psalm  is  suited 
for  the  Sabbath,  when  we  know  that  the  religious  assemblies 
were  more  particularly  convened  for  the  worship  of  God.  It 
is  not  individuals  among  the  godly  whom  he  exhorts  to  cele- 
brate the  divine  praises  in  private  ;  he  enjoins  these  to  be 
offered  up  in  the  public  meeting.  By  this  he  showed  that 
the  outward  worship  of  God  principally  consisted  in  the  sac- 
rifice of  praise,  and  not  in  dead  ceremonies.  He  enjoins 
haste  upon  them ;  by  which  they  might  testify  their 
alacrity  in  this  service.  For  the  Hebrew  word  DID? 
kadamj  in  the   second  verse,  which   I  have  rendered,   let 


lish  language  than  by  a  periphrasis."  Bishop  Mant,  acting  on  this  notion, 
has  ventured,  confonnably  to  it,  to  specify  in  his  version  some  of  the  in- 
struments commonly  used  in  the  temple-Avorship : — 

"  Come,  let  us  sing  Jehovah's  praise ! 
To  him  the  pealing  chorus  raise, 
With  trump,  and  harp,  and  cymbals  ring ; 
The  rock  on  which  our  hopes  are  placed ! " 

'  "  The  deep  places  of  the  earth,"  which  are  opposed  to  the  "  heights  of 
the  mountains,"  plainly  mean  the  deepest  and  most  retired  parts  of  the 
teiTaqueous  globe,  which  are  explored  by  the  eye  of  God,  and  by  his 
only.    Horsley  reads  the  verse  thus, — 

"  The  God  in  whose  hand  are  the  nethermost  recesses  of  the  earth, 
Whose  also  are  the  inaccessible  summits  of  the  mountains." 

"  This,  and  the  following  verse,"  says  he,  "  are  expositive  of  the  great- 
ness of  the  Godship  of  Jehovah,  generally  mentioned  in  the  last  verse. 
'  The  God,  in  whose  hand.*  Thus,  I  have  endeavoured  to  preserve  the 
full  force  of  the  Hebrew  phrase  )'i>2  ll^H-"  Bj'thner's  version  of  the 
last  member  is,  "  And  the  strength  of  the  mountains  is  his."  He  de- 
rives the  noun  nisyinii  vethoaphotk,  which  he  renders  strength,  from  the 
verb  f\]}>,  yadph,  was  wearied;  and  observes,  that  this  is  "a  noun  plu- 
ral feminine,  weariness, — by  antiphrasis,  strength :  is  read  four  times  in 
Scripture,  and  is  said  of  mountains,  silver,  and  the  unicorn,  the  weariness 
and  difliculty  in  overcoming  which,  denote  their  great  strength."  Pag- 
ninus  gives  a  similar  rendering.  Montanus  has  cacmnina,  the  tops, 
Avith  which  the  Septuagint  seems  to  agree,  reading  roi  vTpvi  tuv  c^iuy. 


PSALM  XCV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  33 

US  come  before,  &c.,  means  to  make  haste.  He  calls  upon 
them  to  speed  into  the  presence  of  God ;  and  such  an 
admonition  was  needed,  considering  how  naturally  backward 
we  are  when  called  by  God  to  the  exercise  of  thanksgiving. 
This  indirect  charge  of  indolence  in  the  exercise,  the  Psalmist 
saw  it  necessary  to  prefer  against  God's  ancient  people ;  and 
we  should  be  made  aware  that  there  is  just  as  much  need  of 
a  stimulus  in  our  own  case,  filled  as  our  hearts  are  with  similar 
ingratitude.  In  calling  them  to  come  before  God's  face,  he 
uses  language  which  was  also  well  fitted  to  increase  the  ardour 
of  the  worshippers ;  nothing  being  more  agreeable  than  to 
offer  in  God's  own  presence  such  a  sacrifice  as  he  declares 
that  he  will  accept.  He  virtually  thus  says,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent their  supposing  the  service  vain,  that  God  was  present 
to  witness  it.  I  have  shown  elsewhere  in  what  sense  God 
was  present  in  the  sanctuary. 

3.  For  Jeliovdli  is  a  great  God.  By  these  words  the  Psalm- 
ist reminds  us  what  abundant  grounds  we  have  for  praising 
God,  and  how  far  we  are  from  needing  to  employ  the  lying 
panegyric  with  which  rhetoricians  flatter  earthly  princes. 
First,  he  extols  the  greatness  of  God,  drawing  a  tacit  contrast 
between  him  and  such  false  gods  as  men  have  invented  for 
themselves.  We  know  that  there  has  always  been  a  host  of 
gods  in  the  world,  as  Paul  says,  "  There  are  many  on  the 
earth  who  are  called  gods,"  (1  Cor.  viii.  5.)  We  are  to  notice 
the  opposition  stated  between  the  God  of  Israel  and  all  others 
which  man  has  formed  in  the  exercise  of  an  unlicensed  ima- 
gination. Should  any  object,  that  "  an  idol  is  nothing  in  the 
world,"  (Ibid.  viii.  4,)  it  is  enough  to  reply,  that  the  Psalmist 
aims  at  denouncing  the  vain  delusions  of  men  who  have 
framed  gods  after  their  own  foolish  device.  I  admit,  however, 
that  under  this  term  he  may  have  comprehended  the  angels, 
asserting  God  to  be  possessed  of  such  excellence  as  exalted 
him  far  above  all  heavenly  glory,  and  whatever  might  be  con- 
sidered Divine,  as  well  as  above  the  feigned  deities  of  earth.^ 
Angels  are  not  indeed  gods,  but  the  name  admits  of  an  im- 

^  "  Deum  ita  excellere,  lit  longe  emineat  supra  omnem  ccelestem  glo- 
riam  et  quicqnid  divinum  est,  non  minus  quam  supra  omue  tcrreuum 
figmentum." — Lat. 

VOL.  IV.  C 


34  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  XCV. 

proper  application  to  them  on  account  of  their  being  next  to 
God,  and  still  more,  on  account  of  their  being  accounted  no 
less  than  gods  by  men  who  inordinately  and  superstitiously 
extol  them.  If  the  heavenly  angels  themselves  must  yield 
before  the  majesty  of  the  one  God,  it  were  the  height  of  in- 
dignity to  compare  him  with  gods  who  are  the  mere  fictions 
of  the  brain.  In  proof  of  his  greatness,  he  bids  us  look  to  his 
formation  of  the  world,  which  he  declares  to  be  the  work  of 
God's  hands,  and  subject  to  his  power.  This  is  one  general 
ground  why  God  is  to  be  praised,  that  he  has  clearly  shown 
forth  his  glory  in  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  will  have  us 
daily  recognise  him  in  the  government  of  it.  When  it  is  said, 
that  the  depths  of  the  earth  are  in  his  hand,  the  meaning  is,  that  it 
is  ruled  by  his  providence,  and  subject  to  his  power.  Some 
read,  the  hounds  of  the  earth,  but  the  word  means  abysses  or 
depths,  as  opposed  to  the  heights  of  the  mountains.  The 
Hebrew  word  properly  signifies  searching. 

6.  Come  ye,  let  us  ivorship,  and  hoio  down;^  let  us  kneel  before 

the  face  of  Jehovah  our  Maker. 

7.  Because  he  is  our  God,  and  we  the  people  of  his  pastures,  and 

the  flock  of  his  hand;  to-day,  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice. 

6.  Conie  ye,  let  us  worship.  Now  that  the  Psalmist  exhorts 
God's  chosen  people  to  gratitude,  for  that  pre-eminency  among 
the  nations  which  he  had  conferred  upon  them  in  the  exercise 
of  his  free  favour,  his  language  grows  more  vehement.  God 
supplies  us  with  ample  grounds  of  praise  when  he  invests  us 
with  spiritual  distinction,  and  advances  us  to  a  pre-eminency 
above  the  rest  of  mankind  which  rests  upon  no  merits  of  our 
own.  In  three  successive  terms  he  expresses  the  one  duty 
incumbent  upon  the  children  of  Abraham,  that  of  an  entire 
devotement  of  themselves  to  God.  The  worship  of  God, 
which  the  Psalmist  here  speaks  of,  is  assuredly  a  matter  of 
such  importance  as  to  demand  our  whole  strength ;  but  we 
are  to  notice,  that  he  particularly  condescends  upon  one  point, 
the  paternal  favour  of  God,  evidenced  in  his  exclusive  adop- 

'  "  That  is,  so  as  to  touch  the  floor  with  the  forehead,  while  the  wor- 
shipper is  prostrate  on  his  hands  and  knees — See  2  Chron.  vii.  3." — Fri/. 


rSALM  XCV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  35 

tion  of  the  posterity  of  Abraham  unto  the  hope  of  eternal  life. 
We  are  also  to  observe,  that  mention  is  made  not  only  of 
inward  gratitude,  but  the  necessity  of  an  outward  profession 
of  godliness.  The  three  words  which  are  used  imply  that,  to 
discharge  their  duty  properly,  the  Lord's  people  must  present 
themselves  a  sacrifice  to  him  publicly,  with  kneeling,  and 
other  marks  of  devotion.  The  face  of  the  Lord  is  an  expression 
to  be  understood  in  the  sense  I  referred  to  above, — that  the 
people  should  prostrate  themselves  before  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant,  for  the  reference  is  to  the  mode  of  worship)  under 
the  Law.  This  remark,  however,  must  be  taken  with  one 
reservation,  that  the  Avorshippers  were  to  lift  their  eyes  to 
lieavcn,  and  serve  God  in  a  spiritual  manner.^ 

7.  Because  he  is  our  God.  While  it  is  true  that  all  men 
were  created  to  praise  God,  there  are  reasons  why  the  Church 
is  specially  said  to  have  been  formed  for  that  end,  (Isa.  Ixi.  3.) 
The  Psalmist  was  entitled  to  require  this  service  more  particu- 
larly from  the  hands  of  his  chosen  people.  This  is  the  reason 
why  he  impresses  upon  the  children  of  Abraham  the  invalu- 
able privilege  which  God  had  conferred  upon  them  in  taking 
them  under  his  protection.  God  may  indeed  be  said  in  a  sense 
to  have  done  so  much  for  all  mankind.  But  when  asserted 
to  be  the  Shepherd  of  the  Church,  more  is  meant  than  that 
he  favours  her  with  the  common  nourishment,  support,  and 
government  which  he  extends  promiscuously  to  the  whole 
human  family ;  he  is  so  called  because  he  separates  her  from 
the  rest  of  the  world,  and  cherishes  her  with  a  peculiar  and 
fatherly  regard.  His  people  are  here  spoken  of  accordingly 
as  the  people  of  his  pastures,  whom  he  watches  over  with  pecu- 
liar care,  and  loads  with  blessings  of  every  kind.  The  pass- 
age might  have  run  more  clearly  had  the  Psalmist  called 
them  the  jiock  of  his  pastures,  and  the  people  of  his  hand ;  ^ 

1  "  II  faut  neantmoins  tousjours  adjoustor  ceste  exception,  que  les  fidelcs 
eslevans  les  yeux  au  ciel,  adorent  Dieu  spirituellement." — Fr. 

2  Hammond,  after  making  a  similar  remark,  adds — "  But  it  is  more 
reasonable  to  talve  the  explanation  from  the  different  significations  of 
nyi,  [the  word  which  Calvin  renders  j}asture,'\  as  for  feeding^  so  for  go- 
verning, equally  applicable  to  men  and  cattle ;  from  whence  it  is  but 
analogy,  that  nyiD,  which  signifies  a  pasture,  where  cattle  are  fed,  should 
also  signify  dominion  or  kingdom,  or  any  kind  of  ntohniict,  wherein  a 


36  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCV. 

or,  had  he  added  merely — and  hisjlock  ^ — the  figure  might 
have  been  brought  out  more  consistently  and  plainly.  But  his 
object  was  less  elegancy  of  expression  than  pressing  upon  the 
people  a  sense  of  the  inestimable  favour  conferred  upon  them 
in  their  adoption,  by  virtue  of  which  they  were  called  to  live 
under  the  faithful  guardianship  of  God,  and  to  the  enjoyment 
of  every  species  of  blessings.  They  are  called  thejloch  of  his 
handy  not  so  much  because  formed  by  his  hand  as  because 
governed  by  it,  or,  to  use  a  French  expression,  le  Troupeau  de 
sa  conduite?  The  point  which  some  have  given  to  the  ex- 
pression, as  if  it  intimated  how  intent  God  was  upon  feeding 
his  people,  doing  it  himself,  and  not  employing  hired  shep- 
herds, may  scarcely  perhaps  be  borne  out  by  the  words  in 
their  genuine  meaning ;  but  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the 
Psalmist  would  express  the  very  gracious  and  familiar  kind 
of  guidance  which  was  enjoyed  by  this  one  nation  at  that 
time.  Not  that  God  dispensed  with  human  agency,  in- 
trusting the  care  of  the  people  as  he  did  to  priests,  prophets, 
and  judges,  and  latterly  to  kings.  No  more  is  meant  than 
that  in  discharging  the  oflfice  of  shepherd  to  this  people,  he 
exercised  a  superintendence  over  them  different  from  that 
common  providence  which  extends  to  the  rest  of  the  world. 
To-day y  if  you  will  hear  his  voice.  ^  According  to  the 
Hebrew  expositors,  this  is  a  conditional  clause  standing  con- 
nected with  the  preceding  sentence  ;  by  which  interpretation 
the  Psalmist  must  be  considered  as  warning  the  people  that 
they  would  only  retain  possession  of  their  privilege  and  dis- 
tinction so  long  as   they  continued   to  obey   God.'*      The 


people  are  governed.  And  then  the  other  part,  the  sheep  of  his  hand,  Avill 
be  a  fit,  though  figurative,  expression ;  the  shepherd  that  feeds,  and 
rules,  and  leads  the  sheep,  doing  it  by  his  hand,  which  manageth  the  rod 
and  stafi",  Ps.  xxiii.  4.  The  Jewish  Arab  reads, '  the  people  of  his  feed- 
ing, or  flock,  and  the  sheep  of  his  guidance.* " 

^  The  text  reads,  "  Si  tantum  nomen  Legis  posuisset."  This  is 
evidently  a  mistake  of  the  printer  for  Gregis.  The  Fi-ench  version  reads 
— "  de  Troupeau." 

'  The  flock  under  his  conduct  or  guidance. 

'  The  ancient  Jewish  writers  frequently  apply  these  Avords  to  the 
Messiah :  and  they  have  argued  from  them,  that  if  all  Israel  would  repent 
but  one  day  the  Messiah  would  come ;  because  it  is  said,  "  To-day,  if 
ye  will  hear  his  voice. 

*  Hammond  observes,  that  the  particle  DXi  im,  here  rendered  if, 


PSALM  XCV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  37 

Greek  version  joins  it  with  the  verse  that  follows — to-day^ 
if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts,  and  it  reads 
well  in  this  connection.  Should  we  adopt  the  distribution  of 
the  Hebrew  expositors,  the  Psalmist  seems  to  say  that  the 
posterity  of  Abraham  were  the  flock  of  God's  hand,  inas- 
much as  he  had  placed  his  Law  in  the  midst  of  them,  which 
was,  as  it  were,  his  crook,  and  had  thus  showed  himself  to 
be  their  shepherd.  The  Hebrew  particle  QJ^,  im,  which  has 
been  rendered  if,  would  in  that  case  be  rather  expositive  than 
conditional,  and  might  be  rendered  when,^  the  words  denot- 
ing it  to  be  the  great  distinction  between  the  Jews  and  the 
surrounding  nations,  that  God  had  directed  his  voice  to  the 
former,  as  it  is  frequently  noticed  he  had  not  done  to  the 
latter,  (Ps.  cxlvii.  20 ;  Deut.  iv.  6,  7.)  Moses  had  declared 
this  to  constitute  the  ground  of  their  superiority  to  other 
people,  saying,  "  What  nation  is  there  under  heaven  which 
hath  its  gods  so  nigh  unto  it  ?"  The  inspired  writers  borrow 
frequently  from  Moses,  as  is  well  known,  and  the  Psalmist, 
by  the  expression  to-day,  intimates  how  emphatically  the 
JcAvs,  in  hearing  God's  voice,  were  his  people,  for  the  proof 
was  not  far  off,  it  consisted  in  something  which  was  present 
and  before  their  eyes.     He  bids  them  recognise  God  as  their 

is  in  other  places  often  used  in  an  optative  signification,  as  in  Exod. 
xxxii.  32,  "  If  thou  wilt "  for  "  O  that  thou  wouldst  forgive  them  ;"  and 
that  therefore  the  rendering  here  may  be,  "  O  that  to-day  ye  would  hear 
his  voice  ;" — a  reading,  he  adds,  which  "  may  be  thought  needful  to  the 
making  the  sense  complete  in  this  verse,  which  otherwise  is  thought  to 
hang  (though  not  so  fitly)  on  the  8th  verse,  and  not  to  be  finished  without 
it."  He  then  goes  on  to  say,  "  But  it  maybe  considered  also,  whether  this 
verse  be  not  more  complete  in  itself  by  rendering  ox>  i/i  thus :  '  Let  us 
worship  and  bow  down,  and  kneel  before  the  Lord  our  Maker ;  for  he  is  our 
God,  and  we  are  the  people  of  his  pasture,  and  sheep  of  his  hand,  if  ye 
will  hear  his  voice  to-day,'  i.e.,  speedily, — if  ye  will  speedily  perform 
obedience  to  him, — setting  the  words  in  form  of  a  conditional  promise, 
thereby  to  enforce  the  performance  of  the  condition  on  our  part.  The 
condition  to  the  performance  of  which  they  are  exhorted,  (verse  6,)  is  pay- 
ing God  the  worship  and  lowly  obedience  due  to  him  ;  and  the  promise 
secured  to  them  in  this  performance,  that  he  will  be  their  God,  and  they 
the  people  of  his  pashire,  &^c.,  i.e.,  that  God  will  take  the  same  care  of 
them  that  a  shepherd  does  of  his  sheep  ;  preserve  them  from  all  enemies, 
Midianites,  Philistines,  Canaanites,  &c." 

'  "  Non  erit  proprle  conditionalis,  sed  expositiva  ;  vel  pro  temporis 
adverbio  sumetnr." — Lat. — "  Ne  sera  pas  proprenient  conditiouuelle, 
mais  expositive ;   ou  bicn  elle  sera  prinse  pour  Quand." — Fr. 


38  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCV. 

shepherd,  inasmuch  as  they  heard  his  voice ;  and  it  was  an 
instance  of  his  singular  grace  that  he  had  addressed  them  in 
such  a  condescending:  and  familiar  manner.  Some  take  the 
adverb  to  be  one  of  exhortation,  and  read,  /  tvould  that  they 
would  hear  my  voice,  but  this  does  violence  to  the  words. 
The  passage  runs  well  taken  in  the  other  meaning  we  have 
assigned  to  it.  Since  they  had  a  constant  oppoi'tunity  of 
hearing  the  voice  of  God — since  he  gave  them  not  only  one 
proof  of  the  care  he  had  over  them  as  shepherd,  or  yearly 
proof  of  it,  but  a  continual  exemplification  of  it,  there  could 
be  no  doubt  that  the  Jews  were  chosen  to  be  his  tiock. 

8.  Harden  not  your  heart,  as  in  Meribah,  as   in  the  day  of 

Massah  in  the  wilderness} 

9.  When  your  fathers  tempted  me,  they  proved  me.  though  yet 

they  had  seen  my  work. 
10.  Forty  years'^  I  strove  with  this  generation,  and  said,   They 
are  a  people  that  err  in  heart, ^  and  they  have  not  known 
my  ways. 


^  That  is,  in  the  wilderness  of  Midian,  into  which  the  people  entered 
after  passing  through  the  Red  Sea.  In  their  way  towards  Horeb,  their 
fourth  station  was  at  Rephidim,  where  they  were  chargeable  with  the 
sinful  conduct  here  referred  to. 

2  Paul,  in  quoting  this  passage  in  Heb.  iii.  9,  joins  the  y^ovi^s  forty  years 
to  the  concluding  part  of  the  preceding  verse:  "AVhen  your  fathers 
tempted  me,  proved  me,  and  saw  my  works  forty  years ;"  whereas,  in  the 
Hebrew  text,  and  as  Calvin  connects  them,  they  form  the  commence- 
ment of  the  10th  verse.  But  this  depends  on  the  punctuation  system  of 
the  Masorites,  which  the  Apostle  has  not  followed.  It  is  of  little 
consequence  whether  the  words  forty  years  are  connected  with  the 
close  of  the  9th  verse  or  the  beginning  of  the  10th  ;  the  sense  in  either 
case  being  substantially  the  same.  If  the  Israelites  tempted  God  forty 
years,  he  strove  with  them  during  that  period ;  and  if  he  strove  with  them 
for  so  long  a  time,  it  was  because  they  tempted  him.  The  Apostle  shows 
that  either  of  these  readings  may  be  indifferently  adopted,  when,  in  the 
17th  verse  of  that  chapter,  instead  of  speaking  of  the  forty  years  as  the 
space  of  time  during  which  the  Israelites  tempted  God,  he  speaks  of  them 
as  the  period  during  which  God  was  grieved  by  that  rebellious  people. 
"  But  with  whom  was  he  grieved  forty  years?  was  it  not  with  them  that 
had  sinned,  whose  carcasses  fell  in  the  wilderness?  " 

^  HI*?  '•yri  DJ?!  ^'w  toe  lebab,  "  a  nation  wandering  of  heart."  •fyn?  toe, 
is  from  nyn?  taiih,  he  wandered,  deviated.  The  LXX.,  whom  Paul 
follows  in  Hebrews  iii.  10,  have  dil  iv'Kavuvrcci ;  from  which  Reeves 
conjectures,  that  instead  of  lyn  113^)  populus  erraniium,  "  a  people 
that  do  err  ;"  they  might  have  read,  '•yn  D*?!?.  "  always  erring."  The 
phrase,  erring  in  heart,  is  emphatic,  indicating  the  gi'eat  stress  which 


PSALM  XCV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  39 

11.    Wherefore  I  hate  sworn  in  my  wrath,  if  they  shall  enter 

into  my  rest} 

8.  Harden  not  your  heart,  as  in  Meribah.  The  Psalmist, 
having  extolled  and  commended  the  kindness  of  God  their 
Shepherd,  takes  occasion,  as  they  were  stifFnecked  and  dis- 
obedient, to  remind  them  of  their  duty,  as  his  flock,  which 
was  to  yield  a  pliable  and  meek  submission ;  and  the  more  to 
impress  their  minds,  he  upbraids  them  with  the  obstinacy  of 
their  fathers.  The  term  Hl''^^)  Meribah,  may  be  used  ap- 
pellatively  to  mean  strife  or  contention ;  but  as  the  Psalmist 
evidently  refers  to  the  history  contained  in  Exod.  xvii.  2-7,^ 

God  lays  on  the  state  of  the  heart.  Moses  Stuart,  in  his  commentary 
on  this  passage,  as  quoted  in  Heb.  iii.  10,  understands  the  heart  as  pleo- 
nastic ;  so  that  the  phrase  imports  simply.  They  alwai/s  err,  i.e.,  they  are 
continually  departing  from  the  right  way.  But  the  jjhrase,  we  think,  is 
intended  to  convey  another  idea, — that  God,  in  judging  of  the  character 
and  conduct  of  men,  has  a  special  regard  to  the  state  of  the  heart.  It 
is  the  heart  which  he  principally  requires  in  our  obedience  ;  and  this  he 
chiefly  looks  to  in  men's  disobedience.  When  it  is  upright  as  to  its  gen- 
eral frame,  design,  and  principle,  he  will  bear  with  many  failings  and 
shortcomings.  When  it  is  insincere,  he  Avill  set  no  value  whatever  ou 
any  outward  professions  or  actions,  however  good  in  themselves.  We 
ourselves  act  upon  the  same  principle,  and  are  justified  in  doing  so.  If 
a  man  discovers  that  he  has  just  ground  to  suspect  that  the  hearts  of 
those  with  whom  he  has  intimate  intercourse,  are  false  and  deceitful 
towards  him,  he  ceases  to  respect  and  love  them,  whatever  may  be  their 
professions  of  friendship.  The  lines  of  the  Greek  poet,  though  incon- 
sistent with  the  subdued  feeling  and  tone  of  Christian  benevolence,  which, 
in  this  case,  instead  of  hatred  to  the  person,  produces  regret  and  grief ; 
yet  show  that  men  miiversally,  from  their  very  nature,  take  into  account 
the  state  of  the  heart  in  estimating  the  professions  and  conduct  of  others 
towards  them  : — 

"  Eji^oj  yosj  ,440/  Kitvog  6fA.ug  ei'iZoto  'TFv'Kvioiiv, 

Oj  x   iTS^ov  fisv  nevStsi  ivt  (pQsatv,  oe.'KKo  Bs  (ix^si.'" 

"  I  hate  him  lilie  the  gates  of  hell,  Avho,  pretending  fau-ly  to  me,  reserves 
other  things  in  his  mind." 

^  The  oath  to  which  God  here  refers  is  recorded  in  Numbers  xiv. 
20,  23. 

^  This  remarkable  part  of  Jewish  history  is  alluded  to  in  other  places, 
and  for  various  purposes.  Sometimes  to  reproach  the  Israelites  on  ac- 
count of  their  sins,  as  in  Deut.  ix.  22,  "  And  at  Massah  ye  provoked  the 
Lord  to  wrath  ;"  sometimes  to  wani  them  against  falling  into  the  like  sins, 
as  in  Deut.  vi.  16,  "  Ye  shall  not  tempt  the  Lord  your  God  as  ye  tempted 
him  in  Massah  ;"  and,  at  other  times,  as  an  instance  of  the  faithfulness 
of  the  Levites  who  clave  to  God  in  these  circumstances  of  trial,  Deut. 
xxxiii.  8,  "  And  of  Levi  he  said.  Let  thy  Thumraim  and  thy  Urim  bo 
with  thy  holy  one,  whom  thou  didst  prove  at  Massah,  and  with  whom 
thou  didst  strive  at  the  waters  of  INIeribah." 


40  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCV. 

I  have  preferred  understanding  it  of  the  place — and  so  of 
DD/lSj  Massah}  In  the  second  clause,  however,  the  place 
where  the  temptation  happened  may  be  thought  sufficiently 
described  under  the  term  ivilderness,  and  should  any  read, 
according  to  the  day  of  temptation  (instead  of  Massah)  in  the 
ivilderness,  there  can  be  no  objection.  Some  woidd  have 
it,  that  Massah  and  Meribah  were  two  distinct  places,  but  I 
see  no  ground  to  think  so ;  and,  in  a  matter  of  so  little  im- 
portance, we  should  not  be  too  nice  or  curious.  He  enlarges 
in  several  expressions  upon  the  hardness  of  heart  evinced  by 
the  people,  and,  to  produce  the  greater  effect,  introduces  God 
himself  as  speaking.^  By  hardness  of  heart,  he  no  doubt 
means,  any  kind  of  contempt  shown  to  the  word  of  God, 
though  there  are  many  different  kinds  of  it.  We  find  that, 
when  proclaimed,  it  is  heard  by  some  in  a  cold  and  slighting 
manner ;  that  some  fastidiously  put  it  away  from  them  after 
they  had  received  it ;  that  others  proudly  reject  it ;  while  again 
there  are  men  who  openly  vent  their  rage  against  it  with 
despite  and  blasphemy.^  The  Psalmi&t,  in  the  one  term  which 
he  has  employed,  comprehends  all  these  defaulters,  the  care- 
less— the  fastidious — such  as  deride  the  word,  and  such  as 


^  In  our  English  Bible  it  is,  "  in  the  provocation — in  the  day  of  tempta- 
tion." But  the  most  eminent  critics  agree  with  Calvin  in  thinking  that 
it  is  better  to  retain  the  terms  Mei-ibah  and  Massah  than  to  translate 
them.  The  places  called  by  these  names  were  so  designated  from  the 
Israelites  provoking  and  tempting  God  at  them  ;  and  the  retaining  of  the 
proper  names  gives  more  effect  and  liveliness  to  the  allusion.  See  Psalm 
Ixxxi.  7,  vol.  iii.  p.  316,  n.  2. 

2  Maiit  and  Walford  suppose  that  it  is  at  the  second  part  of  verse  7, 
"  To-day,  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,"  where  God  is  introduced  as  speaking. 
"  By  an  almost  imperceptible  transition,"  remarks  the  former  critic,  "  the 
person  is  here  [last  clause  of  verse  7th]  changed  ;  Jehovah  becomes  the 
speaker ;  and  with  a  corresponding  change  of  topic,  the  Ode,  which  had 
commenced  with  a  spiritual  exhortation  to  exult  in  the  blessings  of  the 
Gospel,  concludes  with  a  solemn,  affectionate,  and  impressive  admonition 
of  the  danger  of  disobedience  to  it ;  leaving  the  warning  upon  the  mind 
with  an  abruptness  peculiarlj^  well  calculated  to  excite  attention  and  to 
produce  the  desired  effect."  Dimock  conjectures,  that,  as  God  is  intro- 
duced as  speaking  in  the  last  clause  of  the  7th  verse,  we  should  read  with 
Mudge,  t'pipa,  for  ^'pip^,  (or,  as  37  MSS.  and  two  others  at  first,  i^ipa,) 
"  Oh  that  you  may  hear  my  voice  this  day :  that  you  may  not  harden 
your  hearts,"  &c. 

*  "  Ab  aliis  frigide  audiri,  et  contemptim  ;  ab  aliis  fastidiose  respui ;  ab 
aliis  superbe  rejici ;  ab  aliis  ctiara  furiose  non  sine  probro  et  blasphemia 
proscindi." — Lat. 


PSALM  XCV.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  41 

are  actuated  in  their  opposition  to  it  by  frenzy  and  passion. 
Before  the  heart  can  be  judged  soft  and  pliable  to  the  hearing 
of  God's  word,  it  is  necessary  that  we  receive  it  with  rever- 
ence, and  with  a  disposition  to  obey  it.  If  it  carry  no 
authority  and  weight  with  it,  we  show  that  we  regard  him  as 
no  more  than  a  mere  man  like  ourselves ;  and  here  lies  the 
hardness  of  our  hearts,  whatever  may  be  the  cause  of  it, 
whether  simply  carelessness,  or  pride,  or  rebellion.  He  has 
intentionally  singled  out  the  odious  term  here  employed,  to 
let  us  know  what  an  execrable  thing  contempt  of  God's  word 
is ;  as,  in  the  Law,  adultery  is  used  to  denote  all  kinds  of  for- 
nication and  uncleanness,  and  murder  all  kinds  of  violence, 
and  injury,  hatreds,  and  enmities.  Accordingly,  the  man 
who  simply  treats  the  word  of  God  with  neglect,  and  fails  to 
obey  it,  is  said  here  to  have  a  hard  and  stony  heart,  although 
he  may  not  be  an  open  despiser.  The  attempt  is  ridiculous 
which  the  Papists  have  made  to  found  upon  this  passage  their 
favourite  doctrine  of  the  liberty  of  the  will.  We  are  to  notice, 
in  the  first  place,  that  all  men's  hearts  are  naturally  hard  and 
stony  ;  for  Scripture  does  not  speak  of  this  as  a  disease  pecu- 
liar to  a  few,  but  characteristic  in  general  of  all  mankind, 
(Ezek.  xxxvi.  26.)  It  is  an  inbred  pravity  ;  still  it  is  volun- 
tary ;  we  are  not  insensible  in  the  same  manner  that  stones 
are,^  and  the  man  who  will  not  suffer  himself  to  be  ruled  by 
God's  word,  makes  that  heart,  which  was  hard  before,  harder 
still,  and  is  convinced  as  to  his  own  sense  and  feeling  of 
obstinacy.  The  consequence  by  no  means  follows  from  this, 
that  softness  of  heart — a  heart  flexible  indifferently  in  either 
direction,  is  at  our  command.^  The  will  of  man,  through 
natural  corruption,  is  wholly  bent  to  evil ;  or,  to  speak  more 
properly,  is  carried  headlong  into  the  commission  of  it.  And 
yet  every  man,  who  disobeys  God  therein,  hardens  himself; 
for  the  blame  of  his  wrong  doing  rests  with  none  but  himself". 

9.    When  your  fathers  tempted  7ne,  they  p7'0ved  me.     The 

1  "  Combien  qu'une  telle  perversite  nous  soit  natm-elle,  toutesfois  pource 
qu'elle  est  voloutaire,  et  que  nous  ue  sommcs  pas  inseusibles  comme  les 
pierres." — Fr. 

2  " II  ne  s'ensuit  pas  neantmoins  qu'il  soit  en  nostre puissance  damoUii* 
nostre  coeur,  ou  de  le  flechir  en  I'une  ct  I'autre  part." — Fr. 


42  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCV. 

Psalmist  Insinuates,  as  I  have  already  remarked,  that  the 
Jews  had  been  from  the  first  of  a  perverse  and  almost  in- 
tractable spirit.  And  there  were  two  reasons  which  made  it 
highly  useful  to  remind  the  children  of  the  guilt  chargeable 
upon  their  fathers.  We  know  how  apt  men  are  to  follow  the 
example  of  their  predecessors ;  custom  begets  a  sanction ; 
what  is  ancient  becomes  venerable,  and  such  is  the  blinding 
influence  of  home  example,  that  whatever  may  have  been 
done  by  our  forefathers  passes  for  a  virtue  -without  examina- 
tion. We  have  an  instance  in  Popedom,  of  the  audacity  with 
which  the  authority  of  the  fathers  is  opposed  to  God's  word. 
The  Jews  were  of  all  others  most  liable  to  be  deceived  upon 
this  side,  ever  accustomed  as  they  were  to  boast  of  their 
fathers.  The  Psalmist  accordingly  would  detach  them  from 
the  fathers,  by  taking  notice  of  the  monstrous  ingratitude 
wuth  which  they  had  been  chargeable.  A  second  reason,  and 
one  to  which  I  have  already  adverted,  is,  that  he  would  show 
them  the  necessity  in  which  they  stood  of  being  warned  upon 
the  present  subject.  Had  their  fathers  not  manifested  a  re- 
bellious spirit,  they  might  have  retorted  by  asking  the  ques- 
tion. Upon  what  ground  he  warned  them  against  hardness  of 
heart,  their  nation  having  hitherto  maintained  a  character  for 
docility  and  tractableness  ?  The  fact  being  otherwise — their 
fathers  having  from  the  first  been  perverse  and  stubborn,  the 
Psalmist  had  a  plain  reason  for  insisting  upon  the  correction 
of  this  particular  vice. 

There  are  two  ways  of  intei'preting  the  words  which  fol- 
low. As  tempting  God  is  nothing  else  than  yielding  to  a 
diseased  and  unwarrantable  craving  after  proof  of  his  power,^ 
we  may  consider  the  verse  as  connected  throughout,  and 
read,  Tliey  tempted  me  and  proved  me,  although  they  had  already 
seen  my  work.  God  very  justly  complains,  that  they  should 
insist  upon  new  proof,  after  his  power  had  been  already  amply 
testified  by  undeniable  evidences.  There  is  another  meaning, 
however,  that  may  be  given  to  the  term  proved, — according 

'  "  When  the  Scriptures  speak  of  men  as  tempting  God,  the  meaning 
is,  that  men  do  that  which  puts  the  divine  patience,  forbearance,  good- 
ness, &c.,  to  a  trial ;  i.  e.,  makes  it  difficult,  as  it  were,  to  preserve  a  strict 
regard  to  these." — Stuart  on  Heb.  iii.  8. 


FSALM  XCV.       THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  43 

to  which,  the  meaning  of  the  passage   would  run  as  fol- 
lows : — Your  fathers   tempted   me    in   asking  where   God 
was,  notwithstanding  all  the  benefits  I  had  done  them  ;  and 
they  proved  me,  that  is,  they  had  actual  experience  of  what  I 
am,  inasmuch  as  I  did  not  cease  to  give  them  open  proofs  of 
my  presence,  and  consequently  they  saw  my  work.  Whatever 
sense  we  adopt,  the  Psalmist's  design  is  plainly  to  show  how 
inexcusable  the  Jews  were  in  desiring  a  discovery  of  God's 
power,  just   as  if  it  had  been   hidden,   and   had  not  been 
taught  them  by  the  most  incontestible  proofs.'     Granting 
that  they  had  received  no  foregoing  demonstration  of  it,  they 
would  have  evinced  an  unbecoming  spirit  in  demanding  of 
God  why  he  had  failed  to  provide  them  with  meat  and  drink; 
but  to  doubt  his  presence  after  he  had  brought  them  from 
Egypt  with  an  outstretched  hand,  and  evidenced  his  nearness 
to  them  by  most  convincing  testimonies, — to  doubt  his  pre- 
sence in  the  same  manner  as  if  it  had  never  been  revealed, 
was  a  degree  of  perverse  forgetfulness  which  aggravated  their 
guilt.     Upon  the  whole,  I  consider  the  following  to  be  the 
sense  of  the  passage — Your  fathers  tempted  me,  although 
they  had  abundantly  proved — perceived  by  clear  and  unde- 
niable evidences,  that  I  was  their  God — nay,  although  my 
works  had  been  clearly  set  before  them.     The  lesson  is  one 
which  is  equally  applicable  to  ourselves  ;  for  the  more  abun- 
dant testimonies  we  may  have  had  of  the  power  and  loving- 
kindness  of  the  Lord,  the  greater  will  our  sin  be,  if  we  insist 
upon  receiving  additional  proofs  of  them.     How  many  do  we 
find  in  our  own  day  demanding  miracles,  while  others  mur- 
mur against  God  because  he  does  not  indulge  their  wishes  ? 
Some  may  ask  why  the  Psalmist  singles  out  the  particular 
case  of  Meribah,  when  there  were  many  other  instances  which 
he  might  have  adduced.     They  never  ceased  to  provoke  God 
from  the  moment  of  their  passing  the  Red  Sea ;  and  in  bring- 
ing this  one  charge  only  against  them,  he  might  seem  by  his 
silence  on  other  points  to  justify  their  conduct.     But  the 
figure  synecdoche  is  common  in  Scripture,  and  it  would  be 

'  "  D'autant  qu'ils  ont  desire  que  la  vertu  de  Dieii,  laquelle  leiir  estoit 
declaree  par  taut  d'experiences,  leur  fnst  nianifestee,  connne  s'ils  ne 
I'eusscut  jamais  cognue." — Fr. 


44  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCV. 

natural  enough  to  suppose  that  one  case  is  selected  for  many. 
At  the  same  time,  another  reason  for  the  specification  may 
have  been,  that,  as  plainly  appears  from  Moses,  the  ingrati- 
tude and  rebellion  of  the  people  reached  its  greatest  height 
on  this  occasion,, when  they  murmured  for  water.  I  am  aware 
that  interpreters  differ  upon  this.  Such,  however,  was  the 
fact.  They  then  crowned  their  former  impiety  ;  nor  was  it 
until  this  outcry  was  made,  as  the  consummating  act  of  all 
their  preceding  wickedness,  that  they  gave  open  proof  of  their 
obstinacy  being  incurable.^ 

10.  Forty  years  I  strove  with  this  generation,"^  The  Psalmist 
brings  it  forward  as  an  aggravation  of  their  perverse  obstinacy, 
that  God  strove  with  them  for  so  long  a  time  without  effect. 
Occasionally  it  will  happen  that  there  is  a  violent  manifesta- 
tion of  perversity  which  soon  subsides  ;  but  God  complains 
that  he  had  constant  grounds  of  contention  with  his  people, 
throughout  the  whole  forty  years.  And  this  proves  to  us  the 
incurable  waywardness  of  that  people.  The  word  generation  is 
used  with  the  same  view.  The  word  1*n,  dor,  signifies  an  age, 
or  the  allotted  term  of  human  life  ;  and  it  is  here  applied  to  the 
men  of  an  age,  as  if  the  Psalmist  had  said,  that  the  Israelites 
whom  God  had  delivered  were  incorrigible,  during  the  whole 
period  of  their  lives.  The  verb  blpt^j  akut,  which  I  have 
rendered  /  strove,  is,  by  some,  translated  /  contemned,  and  in 
the  Septuagint  it  reads,  rr^oaojy^iGa,^  I  loas  incensed,  or  en- 
raged; but  Hebrew  interpreters  retain  the  genuine  meaning, 
That  God  strove  with  them  in  a  continual  course  of  conten- 
tion. This  was  a  remarkable  proof  of  their  extreme  obstinacy ; 
and  God  is  introduced  in  the  verse  as  formally  pronouncing 
judgment  upon  them,  to  intimate,  that  after  having  shown 

^  "  Solus  ille  strepitiis,  quasi  omuium  actionum  catastrophe,  palam 
ostenderit  iusanabilem  esse  eorum  pervicaciam." — Lat. 

2  "  The  men  of  that  age,  or,  as  we  say  iu  English,  the  generation  then 
upon  the  stage." — Stuart  on  Heb.  iii.  10. 

^  "  'jr^o(;u)c^t^ei,  I  was  indignant,  was  offended  at.  The  word  is  Hel- 
lenistic. The  Greeks  use  oxSiu  and  oxSt^a.  According  to  etymology,  it 
consists  of  ■^goV,  to,  agaivst,  upon,  and  ox^yi,  batik,  shore.  It  is  applied 
primarily  to  a  ship  infringing  upon  the  shore,  or,  as  we  say,  running 
aground.  It  answers  to  the  Hebrew  ip,  tSip,  dnDi  &c." — Sttiart  on 
lleb.  iii.  10. 


PSALM  XCV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  45 

their  ungodliness  in  so  many  different  ways,  there  could  be 
no  doubt  regarding  their  infatuation.  Erring  in  heart,  is  an 
expression  intended  not  to  extenuate  their  conduct,  but  to 
stamp  it  with  folly  and  madness,  as  if  he  had  said,  that  he  had 
to  do  with  beasts,  rather  than  men  endued  with  sense  and 
intelligence.  The  reason  is  subjoined,  that  they  would  not 
attend  to  the  many  works  of  God  brought  under  their  eyes, 
and  more  than  all,  to  his  word ;  for  the  Hebrew  term  ^T\% 
derech,  which  I  have  rendered  wat/s,  comprehends  his  law 
and  repeated  admonitions,  as  well  as  his  miracles  done  before 
them.  It  argued  amazing  infatviation  that  when  God  had 
condescended  to  dwell  in  such  a  familiar  manner  amongst 
them,  and  had  made  such  illustrious  displays  of  himself,  both 
in  word  and  works,  they  should  have  shut  their  eyes  and 
overlooked  all  that  had  been  done.  This  is  the  reason  why 
the  Psalmist,  considering  that  they  wandered  in  error  under 
so  much  light  as  they  enjoyed,  speaks  of  their  stupidity  as 
amounting  to  madness. 

11.  Wherefore  I  have  sioorn  in  my  wrath.  I  see  no  objec- 
tion to  the  relative  *1SJ^K,  asher,  being  understood  in  its 
proper  sense  and  reading — To  whom  I  have  sivorn.  The 
Greek  version,  taking  it  for  a  mark  of  similitude,  reads,  as 
/  have  sworn.  But  I  think  that  it  may  be  properly  con- 
sidered as  expressing  an  inference  or  conclusion ;  not  as  if 
they  were  then  at  last  deprived  of  the  promised  inheritance 
when  they  tempted  God,  but  the  Psalmist,  having  spoken,  in 
the  name  of  God,  of  that  obstinacy  which  they  displayed, 
takes  occasion  to  draw  the  inference  that  there  was  good 
reason  for  their  being  prohibited,  with  an  oath,  from  entering 
the  land.  Proportionally  as  they  multiplied  their  provoca- 
tions, it  became  the  more  evident  that,  being  incorrigible, 
they  had  been  justly  cut  off  from  God's  rest.^  The  meaning 
would  be  more  clear  by  reading  in  the  pluperfect  tense — / 
had  sworn;  for  God  had  already  shut  them  out  from  the 
promised  inheritance,  having  foreseen  their  misconduct  before 
he  thus  strove  with  them.     I  have  elsewhere  adverted  to  the 

'  "  Satis  superque  iunotuit,  quia  corrigi  nullo  modo  poterant,  non  temcrc 
fuisse  abdicates  a  requie  Dei." — Lat. 


46  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCV. 

explanation  which  is  to  be  given  of  the  elliptical  form  In 
which  the  oath  runs.  ^  The  land  of  Canaan  is  called  God's 
rest  in  reference  to  the  promise.  Abraham  and  his  posterity 
had  been  wanderers  in  it  until  the  full  time  came  for  entering 
upon  the  possession  of  it.  Egypt  had  been  a  temporary 
asylum,  and,  as  it  were,  a  place  of  exile.  In  preparing  to 
plant  the  Jews,  agreeably  to  his  promise,  in  their  rightful 
patrimony  of  Canaan,  God  might  very  properly  call  it  his 
rest.  The  word  must  be  taken,  however,  in  the  active  sense  ; 
this  being  the  great  benefit  which  God  bestowed,  that  the 
Jews  were  to  dwell  there,  as  in  their  native  soil,  and  in  a 
quiet  habitation.  We  might  stop  a  moment  here  to  compare 
what  the  Apostle  states  in  the  third  and  fourth  chapters  of 
his  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  with  the  passage  now  before  us. 
That  the  Apostle  follows  the  Greek  version,  need  occasion 
no  surprise.^  Neither  is  he  to  be  considered  as  undertaking 
professedly  to  treat  this  passage.  He  only  insists  upon  the 
adverb  To-day,  and  upon  the  word  Rest.  And  first,  he  states 
that  the  expression  to-day,  is  not  to  be  confined  to  the  time 
when  the  Law  was  given,  but  properly  applies  to  the  Gospel, 
when  God  began  to  speak  more  openly.  The  fuller  and  more 
perfect  declaration  of  doctrine  demanded  the  greater  share 
of  attention.  God  has  not  ceased  to  speak  :  he  has  revealed 
his  Son,  and  is  daily  inviting  us  to  come  unto  him  ;  and,  un- 


'  See  Commentary,  Ps.  xxvii.  13,  and  Ixxxix.  35.  "  The  Hebrews 
used  CDj<,  in  the  latter  clause  of  an  oath,  which  ran  thus  :  God  do  so  to 
me,  IF  (ox)  ^  do  thus,  &G.  See  the  full  form  in  1  Sam.  iii.  17  ;  2  Sam. 
iii.  35 ;  2  Kings  vi.  31.  The  former  part  of  this  oath  was  sometimes 
omitted,  and  qx  had  then  the  force  of  a  strong  negative  ;  see  2  Sara, 
xi.  11  ;  1  Sam.  xiv.  45,  cdibi;  vide  Ges.  Ileb.  Lex.  under  qj<,  no.  6. 
So  in  Psalm  xcv.  11,  jiX2''  DS  contains  a  strong  negative,  which  the 
LXX.,  and  Paul  after  them,  (Heb.  iii.  11,)  have  rendered  ei  e/erex- 
ii/aovrui,  they  shall  not  enter. ''^— Stuart  on  Heb.  iii.  11.  "  The  ex- 
pression," says  Dr  Owen,  "  is  imperfect,  and  relates  to  the  oath  of  God, 
wherein  he  sware  by  himself.  As  if  he  had  said,  '  Let  me  not  live,  or 
not  be  God,  if  they  entei','  which  is  the  gi^eatest  and  highest  assevera- 
tion that  they  should  not  enter.  And  the  concealment  of  the  engage- 
ment is  not,  as  some  suppose,  from  a  -Trotdog,  causing  an  abruptness  of 
speech,  but  from  the  reverence  of  the  person  spoken  of.  The  expression 
is  perfectly  and  absolutely  negative.  So  Mark  viii.  12,  with  Matth. 
xvi.  4;  1  Sam.  xiv.  44;  1  Kings  xx.  10." — Commentary  on  Heb.  iii. 
11. 

2  Sec  vol.  i.  p.  103,  note. 


PSALM  XCVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  47 

doubtedly,  it  is  our  incumbent  duty,  under  such  an  oppor- 
tunity, to  obey  his  voice.  The  Apostle  next  reasons  from  the 
rest^  to  an  extent  which  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  words 
of  the  Psahnist  themselves  warrant.  ^  He  takes  it  up  as  a 
first  position,  that  since  there  was  an  implied  promise  in  the 
punishment  here  denounced,  there  must  have  been  some 
better  rest  promised  to  the  people  of  God  than  the  land  of 
Canaan.  For,  when  the  Jews  had  entered  the  land,  God 
held  out  to  his  people  the  prospect  of  another  rest,  which  is 
defined  by  the  Apostle  to  consist  in  that  renouncing  of  our- 
selves, whereby  we  rest  from  our  own  works  while  God  work- 
elh  in  us.  From  this,  he  takes  occasion  to  compare  the  old 
Sabbath,  or  rest,  under  the  Law,  which  was  figurative,  with 
the  newness  of  spiritual  life.^  When  it  is  said  that  Reswore 
in  his  wrath,  this  intimates  that  he  was  in  a  manner  forced  to 
inflict  this  punishment,  that  the  provocation  was  of  no  com- 
mon or  slight  kind,  but  that  their  awful  obstinacy  inflamed 
his  anger,  and  drew  from  him  this  oath. 


PSALM  XCVI. 

This  psalm  contains  an  exhortation  to  praise  God,  an  exhortation  which 
is  directed  not  only  to  the  Jews,  but  to  all  nations.  We  must  infer  from 
this,  that  it  has  reference  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  God's  name  could 
not  be  called  upon  in  any  other  part  of  the  world  than  Judea,  imtil  it 
hadbeen  revealed ;  and  the  heathen  nations  were  at  that  time  necessarily 
altogether  incapacitated  for  any  such  exercise.  ^  Yet  it  is  evident  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  stirred  up  the  saints  who  were  under  the  Law  to  cele- 
brate the  Divine  praises,  till  the  period  should  amve  when  Christ,  by 
the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  should  fill  the  whole  earth  with  his  glory. 

1.  Sing  to  Jehovah  a  new   song,  sing  unto  Jehovah  all   the 
earth. 

■  "  Subtilius  disputat  quam  fcrant  Propheta;  verba." — Lat. 
"  "Vetus   et  legale   Sabbath  urn  quod  umbratile   tantuni  erat,    cum 
spirituali  vitaj  novitate." — Lat. 
'  "  Mutaj  crant  ac  surda;." — Lat. 


48  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSAL3I  XCVI. 

2.  Sing  unto  JeJiomh,  bless  his  name  ;  show  forth  his  salvation 

from  day  to  day. 

3.  Declare  his  glory  among  the  heathen  ;  his  wonders  among 

all  people. 
1.  Sing  unto  Jehovah  a  neio  song.  This  commencement 
shows  that,  as  I  have  already  observed,  the  Psalmist  is  ex- 
horting the  whole  world,  and  not  the  Israelites  merely,  to 
the  exercise  of  devotion.  Nor  could  this  be  done,  unless  the 
gospel  were  universally  diffused  as  the  means  of  conveying 
the  knowledge  of  God.  The  saying  of  Paul  must  necessarily 
hold  true,  "  How  shall  they  call  upon  him  in  whom  they  have 
not  beheved  ?"  (Rom.  x.  14.)  The  same  Apostle  proves  the 
calling  of  the  Gentiles,  by  adducing  in  testimony  of  it, 
"  Praise  the  Lord,  ye  Gentiles,  with  his  people" — from  which 
it  follows,  that  fellowship  in  the  faith  stands  connected  with 
the  joint  celebration  of  praise,  (Rom.  xv.  11.)  Besides,  the 
Psalmist  requires  a  new  song,^  not  one  which  was  common, 
and  had  formerly  been  raised.  He  must  therefore  refer  to 
some  unusual  and  extraordinary  display  of  the  Divine  goodness. 
Thus,  when  Isaiah  speaks  of  the  restoration  of  the  Church, 
which  was  wonderful  and  incredible,  he  says,  "  Sing  unto  the 
Lord  a  new  song,"  (chap.  xlii.  10.)  The  Psalmist  intimates 
accordingly,  that  the  time  was  come  when  God  would  erect 


'.  "We  meet  with  a  psalm  very  similar  to  this,  in  1  Chron.  xvi.,  delivered 
by  David  to  Asaph,  to  be  sung  on  occasion  of  the  removing  of  the  ark 
from  the  house  of  Obed-edom  to  Zion.  But  the  ode,  as  it  stands  in 
1  Chron.  xvi.,  is  considerably  longer,  extending  from  the  8th  verse  to  the 
36th  ;  and  this  is  only  the  part  of  it  from  the  23d  to  the  33d  verse.  It 
has  been  supposed  that  this  part  was  extracted  from  the  psalm  above 
mentioned,  and,  with  a  few  inconsiderable  alterations,  adapted  to  the 
solemnity  of  the  dedication  of  the  second  temple.  This  opinion  is  founded 
upon  the  inscription  of  the  psalm  in  the  Septuagint,  Vulgate,  ^thiopic, 
and  Arabic  versions,  which  is,  "  A  song  of  David  when  the  house  was 
built  after  the  captivity."  Consequently,  strictly  speaking,  this  is  not  a 
neiv  song.  But  it  may  be  called  new^i  from  its  having  been  adapted  to  a 
new  purpose — from  its  having  been  intended  to  celebrate  new  mercies 
coufeiTed  upon  the  Jews,  and  to  lead  the  mind  forward  to  the  glorious 
era  of  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  and  the  establishment  of  his  kingdom, 
which  probably  was  the  matter  of  more  general  expectation  among  the 
chosen  people,  at  the  period  when  the  temple  was  rebuUt,  than  when  the 
ark  was  brought  to  Mount  Zion  from  the  house  of  Obed-edom.  It  may 
be  observed,  that  the  first  verse- is  not  in  the  original  poem,  as  recorded 
in  the  book  of  Chronicles,  but  appears  to  have  been  added  for  the  new 
occasion  to  which  this  shorter  psalm  was  adapted. 


PSALM  XCVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  TSALMS.  49 

his  kingdom  in  the  world  in  a  manner  altogether  unlocked 
for.  He  intimates  still  more  clearly  as  he  proceeds,  that  all 
nations  would  share  in  the  favour  of  God.  He  calls  upon 
them  everywhere  to  show  forth  his  salvation,  and,  in  desiring 
that  they  should  celebrate  it  from  day  to  day,  would  denote 
that  it  was  not  of  a  fading  or  evanescent  nature,  but  such  as 
should  endure  for  ever. 

3.  Declare  his  glory  among  the  heathen.  Additional  terms 
are  adduced  to  commend  the  salvation  spoken  of.  It  is 
called  his  glory  and  his  wonders  ;  which  is  equivalent  to  saying 
that  it  was  glorious  and  admirable.  By  such  titles  the  Psalm- 
ist would  distinguish  it  from  any  deliverances  which  had 
formerly  been  granted,  as  indeed  there  can  be  but  one  opinion, 
that  when  God  appeared  as  Redeemer  of  all  the  world,  he 
gave  a  display  of  his  mercy  and  of  his  favour,  such  as  he 
never  vouchsafed  before.  This  salvation  it  was  impossible, 
as  I  have  said,  that  the  Gentile  nations  could  have  celebrated, 
had  they  been  left  without  it.  The  words  teach  us  that 
we  can  never  be  said  to  have  rightly  apprehended  the  re- 
demption wrought  out  by  Christ,  unless  our  minds  have  been 
raised  to  the  discovery  of  something  incomparably  wonderful 
about  it. 

4.  For   Jehovah  is  great,  and  greatly/  to  he  pi'aised  ;    he  is 
terrible  above  all  gods} 

5.  For  all  the  gods  of  the  nations  are  vanities  ;^  hut  Jehovah 

made  the  heavens. 

6.  Strength  and  honour  are  before  him  ;  power  and  glory  are 

in  his  sanctuary. 

4.  For  Jehovah  is  great,  and  greatly  to  he  praised.  He 
particularly  describes  that  God,  whom  he  would  have  men 

^  The  original  word  for  gods  is  QTI^S)  elohim.  Dr  Adam  Clarke,  who 
doubts  whether  this  word  is  ever  by  fair  construction  applied  to  false  gods 
or  idols,  reads — 

"  Jehovah  is  great,  and  greatly  to  be  praised. 
Elohim  is  to  be  feared  above  all." 
3  "  Ou,  idoles."— i^r.  marg.     "  Or,  idols." 

VOL.  IV.  D 


50  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCVI. 

to  celebrate,  and  this  because  the  Gentile  nations  were  prone 
to  merge  into  error  upon  this  subject.  That  the  whole  world 
might  abjure  its  superstitions,  and  unite  in  the  true  religion,  he 
points  out  the  one  only  God  who  is  worthy  of  universal 
praise.  This  is  a  point  of  the  greatest  importance.  Unless 
men  are  restrained  by  a  due  respect  to  it,  they  can  only  dis- 
honour him  the  more  that  they  attempt  to  worship  him.  We 
must  observe  this  order  if  we  would  not  profane  the  name  of 
God,  and  rank  ourselves  amongst  unbelieving  men,  who  set 
forth  gods  of  their  own  invention.  By  gods  in  the  verse 
may  be  meant,  as  I  observed  already,  (Ps.  xcv.  3,)  either 
angels  or  idols.  I  would  still  be  of  opinion  that  the  term 
comprehends  whatever  is,  or  is  accounted  deity.  As  God,  so 
to  speak,  sends  rays  of  himself  through  all  the  world  by  his 
angels,  these  reflect  some  sparks  of  his  Divinity.^  Men, 
again,  in  framing  idols,  fashion  gods  to  themselves  which  have 
no  existence.  The  Psalmist  would  convince  them  of  its 
beinof  a  gross  error  to  ascribe  undue  honour  either  to  the 
angels  or  to  idols,  thus  detracting  from  the  glory  of  the  one 
true  God.  He  convicts  the  heathen  nations  of  manifest  in- 
fatuation, upon  the  ground  that  their  gods  are  vanity  and 
nought,  for  such  is  the  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  word 
Dvv5^j  elilim,^  which  is  here  applied  to  idols  in  contempt. 
The  Psalmist's  great  point  is  to  show,  that  as  the  Godhead 
is  really  and  truly  to  be  found  in  none  but  the  one  Maker  of 
the  world,  those  religions  are  vain  and  contemptible  which 
corrupt  the  pure  worship  of  him.     Some  may  ask,  Are  angels 

1  "  Quia  Deus  per  angelos  irradiat  totum  mundum,  in  illis  refulgent 
Deitatis  scintUlae." — Lat.  "  Pom*ce  que  Dieu  jette  comme  ses  rayons  sur 
tout  le  monde  par  les  anges,  des  estincelles  de  Divinite  reluiseut  en 
iceux." — Fr. 

2  ^i^Xi  ^^i^i  signifies  a  thing  of  nought ;  as  if  from  ^Xi  not^  the  ^  being 
doubled  to  denote  extreme  nothingness.  Thus  a  false  vision  or  pro- 
phecy, on  which  no  dependence  can  be  placed,  is  called  ^>'?j{,  elil,  "  a 
thing  of  nought,"  Jer.  xiv.  14,  and  a  shepherd  that  leaves  the  flock, 
and  instead  of  visiting,  healing  and  feeding  them,  devours  and  tears 
them  in  pieces,  is  called  in  Zech.  xi.  15,  16,  "  a  pastor,  ^''^XHi  haelil^  of 
no  value."  In  this  sense  the  word  is  used  of  the  false  gods  of  the  heatlieu. 
Instead  of  being  C3in'?J?i  elohim,  gods,  they  are  n^^'''?N»  tlili7n,  mere  no- 
things. Accordingly,  Paul,  in  1  Cor.  viii.  4,  speaks  of  an  idol  as  being 
*'  nothing  iu  the  world." 


PSALM  XCVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  51 

then  to  be  accounted  nothing  and  vanity,  merely  because 
many  have  been  deceived  in  thinking  them  gods  ?  I  would 
reply,  that  we  do  injury  to  the  angels  when  we  give  them 
that  honour  which  is  due  to  God  only ;  and,  while  we  are 
not  on  this  account  to  hold  that  they  are  nothing  in  them- 
selves, yet  whatever  imaginary  glory  has  been  attached  to 
them  must  go  for  nothing.^  But  the  Psalmist  has  in  his 
eye  the  gross  delusions  of  the  heathen,  who  impiously 
fashioned  gods  to  themselves. 

Before  refuting  their  absurd  notions,  he  very  properly  re- 
marks of  God  that  he  is  great,  and  greatly  to  he  praised — In- 
sinuating that  his  glory  as  the  infinite  One  far  excels  any  which 
they  dreamt  of  as  attaching  to  their  idols.  We  cannot  but 
notice  the  confidence  with  which  the  Psalmist  asserts  the  glory 
of  the  true  God,  in  opposition  to  the  universal  opinion  which 
men  might  entertain.  The  people  of  God  were  at  that  time 
called  to  maintain  a  conflict  of  no  inconsiderable  or  common 
description  with  the  hosts  and  prodigious  mass  of  superstitions 
which  then  filled  the  whole  world.  The  true  God  might  be 
said  to  be  confined  within  the  obscure  corner  of  Judea.  Jupi- 
ter was  the  god  every  where  received — and  adored  throughout 
the  whole  of  Asia,  Europe,  and  Africa.  Every  country  had 
its  own  gods  peculiar  to  itself,  but  these  were  not  unknown 
in  other  parts,  and  it  was  the  true  God  only  who  M^as  robbed 
of  that  glory  which  belonged  to  him.  All  the  world  had 
conspired  to  believe  a  lie.  Yet  the  Psalmist,  sensible  that 
the  vain  delusions  of  men  could  derogate  nothing  from  the 
glory  of  the  one  God,^  looks  down  with  indifference  upon 
the  opinion  and  universal  suffi'age  of  mankind.  The  infer- 
ence is  plain,  that  we  must  not  conclude  that  to  be  necessarily 
the  true  religion  which  meets  with  the  approbation  of  the 
multitude  ;  for  the  judgment  formed  by  the  Psalmist  must 
have  fallen  to  the  ground  at  once,  if  religion  were  a  thing 
to  be  determined  by  the  suffr-ages  of  men,  and  his  worship 
depended  upon  their  caprice.  Be  it  then  that  ever  so  many 
agree  in  error,  we  shall  insist  after  the  Holy  Ghost  that  they 


1  "  Sed  qiiicquid  imaglnarium  illis  aflingitur,  nibilum  esse."' — Lat. 
^  "  Qiua  eorum  vanitas  nihil  dcrogat  unins  Dei  glorias. "—/i. 


52  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCVI. 

cannot  take  from  God's  glory  ;  for  man  is  vanity  himself,  and 
all  that  comes  of  him  is  to  be  mistrusted.^  Having  asserted 
the  greatness  of  God,  he  proves  it  by  reference  to  the  forma- 
tion of  the  world,  which  reflects  his  perfections.  ^  God  must 
necessarily  exist  of  himself,  and  be  self-sufficient,  which  shows 
the  vanity  of  all  gods  who  made  not  the  world.  The  heavens 
are  mentioned — a  part  for  the  whole — as  the  power  of  God  is 
principally  apparent  in  them,  when  we  consider  their  beauty 
and  adornment. 

6.  Strength  and  honour  are  before  him.  I  translate  the 
Hebrew  word  "Iin?  hod,  by  strength,  and  think  those  inter- 
preters who  render  it  glory  have  not  duly  considered  the 
context.  It  is  evident  that  the  next  member  of  the  verse  is 
a  repetition,  and  there  it  reads,  Power  and  glory  are  in  his 
sanctuary.  The  Psalmist  means  that  we  cannot  be  said  to 
know  God  if  we  have  not  discovered  that  there  is  in  him  an 
incomparable  glory  and  majesty.  He  first  takes  notice  of 
his  power  and  strength,  as  that  in  which  his  glory  consists. 
There,  as  God  is  invisible,  he  directs  the  thoughts  of  his 
people  to  the  sanctuary,  which  we  have  already  seen  to  be 
the  symbol  of  his  presence.  Such  is  the  weakness  of  our 
minds  that  we  rise  with  difficulty  to  the  contemplation  of 
his  glory  in  the  heavens.  The  Psalmist  reminds  us  that  we 
have  no  reason  to  say  that  his  glory  is  obscure,  since  there 
were  emblems  of  his  presence  in  the  temple,  the  sacrifices, 
and  the  ark  of  the  covenant.  Let  us  endeavour,  when  we 
make  mention  of  God,  to  conceive  of  this  glory  which  shines 

'  "  Car  tout  ainsi  qu'ils  sont  vanite,  aussi  tout  ce  qui  procede  d'eux 
est  vain  et  plein  de  deception." — Fr. 

*  "Tlie  argument  of  God's  superiority  over  all  other  beings,  drawn 
from  his  creation  of  the  world,  is  sublimely  expressed  in  the  following 
lines  ascribed  by  Justin  Martyr  (de  Monarchid.  p.  159,  ed.  Oxon.  1703) 
to  Pythagoras, — 

E/"  T/f  i^il,  Qeo;  ei/nt,  TruQS^  ivo;,  ovrog  6(pei'Kei 
Koaftov  hov  tovtu  aryiaot-i  ilviiv  ifiog  ovro;. 

One  God  our  hearts  confess  :  whoe'er  beside 
Aspires  with  Him  our  homage  to  divide, 
A  world  as  beauteous  let  him  first  design, 
And  say,  its  fabric  finished,  '  This  is  mine.' " 

Merrick's  Annotations. 


PSALM  XCVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  53 

before  him — otherwise,  if  we  do  not  apprehend  his  power,  it 
is  rather  a  dead  than  a  living  God  whom  we  worship.' 

7.  Give  to  Jehovah,  O  ye  assemblies  of  peoples  !  give  to  Jehovah 

glory  and  strength.^ 

8.  Give  to  Jehovah  the  glory  of  his  name  ;  bring  an  offering,^ 

and  come  into  his  courts. 

9.  Worship  before  Jehovah  in  the  beautyof  the  sanctuary;*  let 

the  whole  earth  tremble  before  his  face. 

7.  Give  to  Jehovah,  Sfc.  Since  praise  waited  for  God  in 
Zion,  (Ps.  Ixv.  1,)  and  that  was  the  place  devoted  to  the 
celebration  of  his  worship,  and  the  posterity  of  Abraham 
were  alone  invested  with  the  privilege  of  priesthood,  we 
cannot  doubt  that  the  Psalmist  refers  here  to  that  great 
change  which  was  to  take  place  in  the  Church  upon  the  advent 
of  Christ.  An  opposition  or  distinction  is  intended  between 
God's  ancient  people  and  the  Gentile  tribes,  which  were  to 
be  afterwards  adopted  into  the  same  fellowship.  To  declare 
his  glory  and  strength,  is  the  same  with  declaring  the  glory 
of  his  strength.     And  to  show  that  man  can  boast  nothing 


'  "  Car  ceux  qui  separent  de  luy  sa  puissance,  imaginent  plustost  une 
essence  inorte,  qu'une  Divinite  vive." — Fr. 

2  Thie  original  word  for  strength  is  ty,  oz,  whicli  is  derived  from 
ny,  azaz^  he  was  strong.  "  Tlie  same  word,"  says  Hammond,  "  signifies 
what  the  Greeks  call  s^ouatx^  power,  dominion,  empire.  In  tlie  notion 
of  strength  or  valour  it  may  probably  be  used  in  verse  6,  where  as 
beautij  so  strength  is  said  to  be  in  his  sanctuary ;  beauty  in  respect  of  the 
glory  of  the  divine  presence,  by  the  guard  of  angels  that  attend  there, 
and  strength  in  respect  of  the  assistance  that  is  by  God  provided  and  fur- 
nished there  to  all  that  seek  it  by  prayer.  But  the  other  notion  is  fitter 
for  this  place,  where  the  word  is  joined  with  glory  and  attributed  to  God  ; 
and  so  in  1  JPeter  v.  11,  which  seems  to  be  taken  from  hence,  it  is  ccvr^ 
ij  lo^x  Kdl  TO  x-^xTog,  '  to  him  be  glory  and  dominion  ;'  and  hence  God's 
title  of  TTxi/roK^xrM^  is  best  rendered,  not  '  almighty,'  or  '  he  that  hath  all 
strength,'  but '  he  that  hath  the  ty  or  k^xto;,  dominion  or  empire  over  all.' " 

'  Horsley  reads,  "Take  an  offering."  '■'■A  mincha,"  says  he,  "an 
offering  of  bread  and  flour,  not  of  flesh." 

*  The  words  tJ^npTmnS)  which  Calvin  renders  "in  the  beauty  of  the 
sanctuary,"  are  rendered  in  our  English  Bible  "  in  the  beauty  of  holiness." 
The  Septuagint  reads,  iv  xv'kyi  xytx  xvrov,  "  in  the  court  of  his  holiness ; ' 
from  which  it  has  been  thought  probable  thatthetext  originally  stood  )^  ip- 
"i^'ni'  See  this  word  at  the  end  of  the  preceding  verse.  In  Psalm  xxix. 
2,  the  same  sentence  occurs.  The  version  of  Calvin,  and  that  of  Jerome, 
which  is  precisely  the  same,  in  decorc  sancluarli,  partake  both  of  the  He- 
brew and  Septuagint  reading. 


54:  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCVI. 

of  his  own,  and  in  refusing  to  celebrate  God,  impiously 
despoils  liim  of  his  just  honours,  he  subjoins.  Give  unto  the 
Lord  the  glory  of  his  name ;  an  expression  which  denotes 
that  God  bori'ows  nothing  from  without,  but  comprehends 
all  that  is  worthy  of  praise  in  himself.  He  calls  upon  the 
Gentile  nations  in  so  many  words  to  render  unto  God  the 
same  worship  which  the  Jews  did ;  not  that  we  must 
worship  God  now  according  to  the  outward  ritual  which 
was  prescribed  under  the  Law,  but  he  signifies  that  there 
would  be  one  rule  and  form  of  religion  in  which  all  nations 
should  accord.  Now,  unless  the  middle  wall  of  partition  had 
been  broken  down,  the  Gentiles  could  not  have  entered  along 
with  God's  children  into  the  courts  of  the  sanctuary.  So  that 
we  have  here  a  clear  prediction  of  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles, 
who  needed  to  have  their  uncleanness  taken  away  before  they 
could  be  brought  into  the  holy  assembly.  The  mincha,  or 
oblation,  was  only  one  kind  of  sacrifice,  but  it  is  here  taken  to 
denote  the  whole  worship  of  God,  because  it  was  a  part  of 
divine  service  more  ordinarily  practised.  We  see  from  this, 
and  other  passages,  that  the  inspired  penmen  describe  the 
inward  worship  of  God  under  symbols  common  in  the  age 
when  they  lived.  God  would  not  have  meat-offerings  pre- 
sented to  him  after  Christ  had  come ;  but  the  words  which 
the  Psalmist  employs  intimate  that  the  doors  of  the  temple, 
once  shut,  were  now  to  be  opened  for  the  admission  of  the 
Gentiles.  The  Apostle,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  (chap, 
xiii.  15,)  tells  us  what  are  those  sacrifices  with  which  God 
will  now  be  worshipped.  Hence  the  absurdity  of  the  Papists, 
who  would  adduce  such  passages  in  support  of  the  mass  and 
their  other  fooleries.  We  may  very  properly  learn  from  the 
words,  however,  that  we  ought  not  to  come  empty-handed 
into  the  presence  of  God,  enjoined  as  we  are  to  present  our- 
selves and  all  that  we  have  as  a  reasonable  service  unto  Him, 
(Rom.  xii.  1  ;  1  Pet.  ii.  5.)  . 

9.  Worship  before  Jehovah.  The  Psalmist  prosecutes  the 
same  train  of  sentiment.  In  requiring  oblations  of  his 
people,  God  was  not  to  be  considered  as  standing  in  need 
of   the   services  of  the   creature,  but   as  giving  them    an 


PSALM  XCVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  55. 

opportunity  of  professing  their  faith.    The  true  reason,  there- 
fore, is  here  mentioned  why  the  oblation  was  enjoined,  That 
his   people    might    prostrate   themselves    before    him,    and 
acknowledge  that  they  and  all  belonging  to  them  were  his. 
Mention  is  made  of  the  beauty  of  the  temple,  referring  to  the 
fact  that  the  Gentiles  should  be  raised   to  a  new  honour,  in 
being  associated  into  one  body  with  God's  chosen  people.^ 
At  the  time  when  this  psalm  was  written,  it  was  generally 
deemed  scarcely  credible  that  the  heathen  nations  would  be 
admitted  into  the  temple  in  company  with  the  holy  seed  of 
Abraham.     This  should  make  us  think  all  the  more  highly 
of  our  calling  as  Gentiles,  which  seemed  then  so  incredible  and 
impracticable  a  thing.     We  may  be  convinced  that  God  only 
could  have  opened  for  us  the  door  of  salvation.    The  beauty  of 
the  temple  is  an  expression  intended  to  beget  a  reverential  view 
of  the  temple,  that  men  may  approach  it  with  humble  fear, 
instead  of  rushing  without  consideration  into  God's  presence. 
The  clause  which  follows  in  the  verse  is  inserted  for  the  same 
purpose — tremble  before  his  face,  intimating  that  we  should 
prostrate  ourselves  as  suppliants  before  him  when  we  consider 
his  awful  majesty.      Not  that  he  would  deter  worshippers 
from  drawing  near  to   God.      They  should  esteem  it  their 
greatest  pleasure  and  enjoyment  to  seek  his  face.     But  he 
would  have  us  humbled  to  the  right  and  serious  worship  of 
God.     I  may  add,  that  the  beauty  or  glory  of  the  sanctuary 
did  not  consist  in  silver  and  gold,  in  the  preciousness  of  the 
material  of  wliich  it  was  made,  nor  in  polished  stones,  nor 
in  any  splendour  and  decoration  of  this  kind,  but  in   the 
representation  of  the  heavenly  pattern    which   was  shown 
to  Moses  on  the  mount,  (Exod.  xxv.  9.) 

10.  Say  among  the  heathen,  Jehovah  reigiieth  ;  also  the  loorld 

shall  he  established,  it  shall  not  he  moved  :  he  shall  judge 
the  peoples'^  in  righteousness,  [literally,  in  righteousnesses.^ 

11.  Let  the  heavens  rejoice,  and  let  the  earth  he  glad;  let  the  sea 

thunder,  and  the  fulness  thereof. 

^  "  Pour  luoustrer  que  les  Gentils  clevoyent  estre  receus  k  un  honneur 
nouveau,  qu'ils  feront  uu  mesme  cor])s  avec  le  peiiple  eleu." — Fr. 

2  "  The  peoples.  The  Hebrew  word  is  plural,  and  it  is  rendered  plu- 
rally  by  all  the  ancient  versions.  It  is  not  one  people  only,  but  all  tho 
nations  upon  earth,  that  God  will  judge." — Street. 


56  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSAL3I  XCV  I. 

12.  Let  the  field  he  joyful,  and  all  that  is  therein;   likewise  let 

all  the  trees  of  the  wood  rejoice  ^ 

13.  Before  Jehovah  ;  for  he  cometh,  for  he  cometh  to  judge  the 

earth  :  he  shall  judge  the  world  with  righteousness,  and  the 
people  with  his  truth.^ 

10.  Sai/  among  the  heathen,  Jehovah  reignetli.  His  language 
again  implies  that  it  is  only  where  God  rules  and  presides 
that  he  can  be  worshipped.  The  Gentiles  could  not  possibly 
profess  the  worship  of  God,  so  long  as  his  throne  was  only 
in  the  small  corner  of  Judea,  and  they  were  not  acknow- 
ledging his  government.  Accordingly,  the  Psalmist  speaks 
of  his  extending  his  kingdom  to  all  parts  of  the  world,  with 
the  view  of  gathering  unto  himself  in  one,  those  who  had 
formerly  been  divided  and  scattered.  The  expression,  Saij 
among  the  heathen,  signifies  that  God  would  enlarge  the 
boundaries  of  his  kingdom  by  his  word  and  doctrine.  What 
is  said  of  the  world  being  established,  is  particularly  worthy  of 
our  observation.  So  far  as  the  order  of  nature  is  concerned, 
we  know  that  it  has  been  Divinely  established,  and  fixed 
from  the  beginning ;  that  the  same  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  con- 


'  The  Hebrew  verb  ijj-i,  rannenu,  here  rendered  rejoice,  "  expresses," 
says  Maut,  "  the  vibratory  motion  eitlier  of  a  dancer's  feet,  or  of  a  sing- 
er's lips.  Hence  it  signifies  '  to  wave  to  and  fro'  as  trees."  In  support 
of  this  sense  of  the  word  he  refers  to  Bishop  Horsley's  note  on  Psalm 
xcviii.  8,  and  Parkhurst's  Lexicon  on  p-|,  i.  ii.  Accordingly,  he  translates 
the  verse — 

"  Be  glad,  ye  fields,  and  fruits,  the  fields  that  spread 
Wave  high,  ye  Avoods,  in  worship  wave  the  head ;" 

which,  he  observes,  will  remind  the  reader  of  Adam  and  Eve's  morning 
hymn : — 

" and  wave  yom*  tops,  ye  pines, 

With  every  plant,  in  sign  of  worship  wave." 

Paradise  Lost,  v. 

2  This  psalm  has  been  admired  for  its  grandeur  and  magnificence. 
The  three  last  verses  in  particular  have  been  frequently  quoted  as  a  spe- 
cimen of  sublimity  in  sentiment  and  language,  which  cannot  be  sm-passed. 
"  Nothing  can  excel  in  this  respect,"  remarks  Bishop  Lowth,  "  that 
noble  exultation  of  universal  nature  in  the  96th  Psalm,  Avhich  has  been  so 
often  commended,  where  the  whole  animate  and  inanimate  creation  unite 
in  the  praises  of  their  Maker.  Poetry  here  seems  to  assume  the  highest 
tone  of  triumph  and  exultation,  and  to  revel,  if  I  may  so  cxi)ress  myself, 
in  all  the  extravagance  of  joy." — Lectures  on  Sacred  Poetry,  vol.  i.  p.  378 


PSALM  XCVI. 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  57 


tinue  to  shine  in  heaven ;  that  the  wicked  and  the  unbelieving 
are  sustained  with  food,  and  breathe  the  vital  air,  just  as  do 
the  righteous.     Still  we  are  to  remember  that  so  long  as  un- 
godliness has  possession  of   the  minds  of  men,  the  world, 
plunged  as  it  is  in  darkness,  must  be  considered  as  thrown 
into  a  state  of  confusion,  and  of  horrible  disorder  and  mis- 
rule; for  there  can  be  no  stability  apart  from  God.     The 
world  is  very  properly  here  said  therefore  to  be  established, 
that  it  should  not  shake,  when  men  are  brought  back  into  a 
state  of  subjection  to  God.      We  learn  this  truth  from  the 
passage.  That  though  all  the  creatures  should  be  discharging  " 
their  various  offices,  no  order  can  be  said  to  prevail  in  the 
world,  until  God  erect  his  throne  and  reign  amongst  men.  ;, 
What  more  monstrous  disorder  can  be  conceived  of,  than 
exists   where    the  Creator   himself  is    not    acknowledged? 
Wicked  and  unbelieving  men  may  be  satisfied  with  their  own 
condition,  but  it  is  necessarily  most  insecure,  most  unstable ; 
and  destitute  as  they  are  of  any  foundation  in  God,  their  Hie 
may  be  said  to  hang  by  a  thread.^     We  are  to  recollect  Avhat 
we  have  seen  taught,  (Ps.  xlvi.  5,)  "  God  is  in  the  midst  of 
the  holy  city,  she  shall  not  be  moved."     Very  possibly  there 
may  be  an  indirect  allusion  to  the  imperfect  and  uncompleted 
state  of  things  under  the  Law,  and  a  contrast  may  have  been 
intended    between    the   perfect    condition    of  things    which 
should  obtain  under  Christ,  and  the  prelude  to  it  under  the 
former  period.      Next  he  predicts  that  the  kingdom  to  be 
introduced  should  be  distinguished  by  righteousness,  accord- 
ing to  what  we  have  seen,  (Ps.  xlv.  6,)  "  A  sceptre  of  righte- 
ousness is  the  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom."      The  term  judging, 
in  the  Hebrew,  includes  government  of  any  kind.     If  God's 
method  of  governing  men  be  to  form  and  regulate  their  lives 
to  righteousness,  we  may  infer,  that  however  easily  men  may 
be  satisfied  Avitli  themselves,  all  is  necessarily  wrong  with 
them,  till  they  have  been  made  subject  to  Christ.     And  this 
righteousness  of  which  the  Psalmist  speaks  has  not  reference 
merely  to  the  outward  actions.     It  comprehends  a  new  heart, 


^  "  Semper  tamen  fluctuari  necesse  est,  et  vitam  coram  peudero  de 
filo,  quia  iu  Deo  fuudatus  nou  est  corum  status." — Lat. 


58  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCVI. 

commencing  as  it  does  in  the  regeneration  of  the  Spirit,  by 
which  we  are  formed  again  into  the  likeness  of  God. 

11.  Let  the  heavens  rejoice^  and  let  the  earth  be  glad.  With 
the  view  of  giving  us  a  more  exalted  conception  of  the  dis- 
play of  God's  goodness  in  condescending  to  take  all  men  under 
his  government,  the  Psalmist  calls  upon  the  irrational  things 
themselves,  the  trees,  the  earth,  the  seas,  and  the  heavens,  to 
join  in  the  general  joy.  Nor  are  we  to  understand  that  by 
the  heavens  he  means  the  angels,  and  by  the  earth  men  \}  for 
he  calls  even  upon  the  dumb  fishes  of  the  deep  to  shout  for 
joy.  The  language  must  therefore  be  hyperbolical,  designed 
to  express  the  desireableness  and  the  blessedness  of  being 
brought  unto  the  faith  of  God.  At  the  same  time,  it  denotes 
to  us  that  God  does  not  reign  with  terror,  or  as  a  tyrant,  but 
that  his  power  is  exercised  sweetly,  and  so  as  to  diffuse  joy 
amongst  his  subjects.  The  wicked  may  tremble  when  his 
kingdom  is  introduced,  but  the  erection  of  it  is  only  the  cause 
of  their  fear  indirectly.^  We  might  notice  also,  that  the 
hyperbole  here  employed  does  not  want  a  certain  foundation 
of  a  more  literal  kind.  As  all  elements  in  the  creation  groan 
and  travail  together  with  us,  according  to  Paul's  declaration, 
(Rom.  viii.  22,)  they  may  reasonably  rejoice  in  the  restora- 
tion of  all  thino's  according;  to  their  earnest  desire.  The 
words  teach  us  how  infatuated  that  joy  is,  which  is  wantonly 
indulged  in  by  men  who  are  without  God.  From  the  close 
of  the  psalm,  we  learn  that  it  is  impossible  to  experience  the 
sHghtest  measure  of  true  joy,  as  long  as  we  have  not  seen  the 
face  of  God,  Rejoice  before  the  Lord,  because  he  cometh.  And 
if  the  very  sea  and  land  mourn  so  long  as  God  is  absent, 
may  we  not  ask  what  shall  become  of  us,  who  are  properl}'^ 
the  subjects  of  God's  dreadful  curse?  The  Psalmist,  to 
remove  all  doubt  regarding  an  event  which  might  seem  in- 
credible, repeats  his  assertion  of  it,  and  states,  at  the  same 
time,  in  what  that  rectitude  consists,  which  he  had  formerly 


1 


"  Neque  enim  metonymice  de  augelis  vel  hominibus  loquitur." — Lat. 
"Tl  ne  faut  pas  penser  que  ce  soit  yci  la  figure  nomuiee  Metonymie,  et 
que  par  les  Cieux  il  enteude  les  Auges,  par  la  Terre  les  hommes." — Fr. 
^  "  C'est  une  chose  accidentale." — Fr. 


PSALM  XCVII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  59 

mentioned,  when  he  adds,  that  God  shall  govern  the  world 
ivith  righteousness  and  truth.  This  shows  us  that  it  is  only 
by  the  light  of  God's  righteousness  and  truth  that  the 
wickedness  and  hypocrisy  of  men  can  be  removed  and  dis- 
pelled. 


PSALM  XCVII. 

The  description  which  we  have  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in  this  psalm, 
does  not  apply  to  the  state  of  it  under  the  Law.  We  may  infer, 
accordingly,  that  it  contains  a  prediction  of  that  kingdom  of  Christ, 
which  was  erected  upon  the  introduction  of  the  Gospel.  The  Psalmist, 
while  he  commends  it  to  us  by  insisting  upon  its  greatness  and  glory, 
so  weU  calculated  to  compel  the  reverential  fear  of  men,  gives  an  ami- 
able representation  of  it,  by  informing  us  that  it  has  been  erected  for 
the  salvation  of  mankind  sinners. 

1.  Jehovah  reigns  :  let  the  earth  rejoice,  let  the  great  islands^  be 

glad. 

2.  Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  him;  righteousness  and 

judgment  are  the  habitation  ^  of  his  throne. 

^  "  Ou,  que  beaucoup  d'isles." — Fr.  marg.  "  Or,  let  the  many  isles." 
Horsley  and  some  other  critics  object  to  translating  the  original  Avord, 
QiiXi  iyirn-i  by  isles.  He  reads,  "  Let  the  various  settlements  of  man 
rejoice  :"  on  which  he  observes,  "  I  cannot  more  exactly  render  the  force 
of  the  Hebrew  ci}?,  than  by  this  periphrasis.  The  English  language 
hath  no  single  word  to  convey  the  same  idea ;  and  the  word  '  isles'  or 
'  islands,'  hath  hardly  any  relation  to  it."  Fry's  note  here  is  as  follows : 
— "  The  Hebrew  terms  rendered,  '  the  multitude  of  the  isles,'  '  the  various 
settlements  of  men,'  '  the  extended  shores,'  seem  in  a  special  manner  to 
designate  these  western  parts  of  the  world,  which  were  known  as  distant 
coasts  visited  by  the  ships  of  Tyre.  All  Europe  might  originally  fall 
under  this  denomination,  with  some  parts  of  the  sea  coasts  of  Africa,  and 
even  of  Asia  ;  nor  can  there  be  any  doubt,  that  all  subsequent  discoveries 
by  sea,  once  uninhabited,  but  now  colonized,  and  settled  from  the  old 
countries,  would  be  designated  by  this  term.  Some  nations  of  this  de- 
scription are  called  upon,  in  particular,  to  rejoice  in  the  Saviom-'s  appear- 
ing." 

2  The  word  |1D)0,  mechon,  here  rendered  "  habitation,"  is  from  p3,  kun, 
he  prepared, fitted,  confirmed.  "  It  is  used,"  says  Hammond,  "  for  a  place, 
seat,  but  especially  a  basis,  whereon  anything  is  set :  from  whence  the 
LXX.  had  their  fnxuvud,  (the  very  Hebrew  ni31DJ:i)  for  basis,  1  Kings 


60  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCVII. 

3.  A  fire  shall  go  before  his  face,  and  shall  burn  up  his  enemies 

round  about. 

4.  His  lightnings  enlightened  the  world  ;  the  earth  shall  see,  and 

tremble. 

5.  The  hills  flow  down  like  wax  at  the  presence  of  Jehovah,  at  the 

presence  of  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth. 

1.  Jehovah  reigns.  His  inviting  men  to  rejoice,  is  a  proof 
that  the  reign  of  God  is  inseparably  connected  with  the 
salvation  and  best  happiness  of  mankind.  And  the  joy  he 
speaks  of  being  common  to  the  whole  world,  and  to  the 
regions  beyond  the  seas,  it  is  evident  that  he  predicts  the  en- 
largement of  God's  kingdom,  which  had  been  confined  within 
the  narrow  boundaries  of  Judea,  to  a  far  wider  extent.  The 
Psalmist,  in  setting  forth  the  various  particulars  of  the  Divine 
glory  in  the  four  verses  which  follow,  would  seek  to  impress 
all  men  with  a  reverential  fear  of  him.  Thus  he  gives  us  a 
representation  of  the  formidable  majesty  attaching  to  God, 
that  he  may  dash  and  humble  vain  confidence  and  carnal 
pride.  A  cloudy  sky  overawes  us  more  than  a  clear  one,  as 
the  darkness  produces  a  peculiar  effect  upon  the  senses.  The 
Psalmist  makes  use  of  this  symbol,  no  doubt,  to  impress  the 
world  with  the  greater  reverence  of  God.  Others  refine 
more  upon  the  words,  and  think  that  clouds  are  said  to  be 
round  about  God,  to  check  human  rashness  and  presumption, 
and  restrain  that  excessive  curiosity  which  would  pry  more 
than  is  fit  into  the  mysteries  of  Godhead.  This  is  an  interpre- 
tation of  the  words  which  makes  them  convey  a  very  useful 
lesson ;  but  I  am  against  all  refined  renderings,  and  think  that 
the  Psalmist  intended  in  associating  darkness  with  God,  to 


vii.  27.  The  Chaldee  here  retains  the  original  ji30,  but  the  LXX.,  from 
the  notion  of  the  verb  iox  fitting^  read  xaTog^cj^-/?,  '  the  setting  right  of  his 
throne ;'  the  Syriac,  by  way  of  paraphrase,  '  by  equity  and  judgment  thy 
throne  is  confirmed :'  all  which  concur  to  tlie  notion  of  basis  or  founda- 
tion^ which  is  the  thing  that  gives  the  rectitude  ^r&t^  and  then  the  stability, 
to  the  chair  or  throne  that  is  set  on  it.  And  so  that  is  unquestionably 
the  right  intelligible  rendering  of  the  phrase,  'Righteousness  and  judg- 
ment are  the  (not  habitation  but)  basis  of  his  throne,'  i.  e.,  his  sentences, 
decrees,  judicatures,  are  all  built  upon  righteousness  and  judgment,  as  a 
throne  is  built  and  established  on  a  foundation." 


PSALM  XCVII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  61 

impress  the  hearts  of  men  with  a  fear  of  him  in  generah ' 
The  same  meaning  is  brought  out  in  the  remaining  context, 
when  fire  is  said  to  go  before  him,  and  hum  up  his  enemies, 
his  lightnings  to  shake  the  earth,  and  the  mountains  to  Jlow 
down.     Should  any  object  that  this  does  not  agree  with  what 
was  said  of  the  joy  which  his  kingdom   diffuses,   I  might 
answer,  first,  that  although  God  is  ready  on  his  part  to  diffuse 
blessedness  wherever  he  reigns,  all  are  not  capable  of  appre- 
ciating it.    Besides,  as  I  have  already  hinted,  the  truth  is  one 
of  use  to  believers,  humbling  the  pride  of  the  flesh,   and 
deepening  their  adoration  of  God.      God's  throne  is  repre- 
sented as  founded  injustice  a.nd  Judgment,  to  denote  the  benefit 
which  we  derive  from  it.     The  greatest  misery  which  can  be 
conceived  of,  is  that  of  living   without  righteousness  and 
judgment,  and  the  Psalmist  mentions  it  as  matter  of  praise 
exclusively  due  to  God,  that  when  he  reigns,  righteousness 
revives  in  the  world.     He  as  evidently  denies  that  we  can 
have  any  righteousness,  till  God  subjects  us  to  the  yoke  of 
his  word,  by  the  gentle  but  powerful  influences  of  his  Spirit. 
A  great  proportion  of  men  obstinately  resist  and  reject  the 
government  of  God.      Hence  the  Psalmist  was  forced  to 
exhibit  God  in  his  severer  aspect,  to  teach  the  wicked  that 
their  perverse  opposition  will  not  pass  unpunished.     When 
God  draws  near  to  men  in  mercy,  and  they  fail  to  welcome 
him  with  becoming  reverence  and  respect,  this  implies  impiety 
of  a  very  aggravated   description ;  on  which  account  it  is 
that  the  language  of  denunciation  suits  with  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.      The   Psalmist   intimates   that   those   who  should 
despise  God  in  the  person  of  his  only-begotten  Son,  will  feel 
in  due  time  and  certainly  the  awful  weight  of  his  majesty. 
So  much  is  implied  in  the  expression  used —  The  earth  shall 
SEE.     For  the  wicked,  when  they  find  that  their  attempts 
are  vain  in  fighting  against  God,  resort  to  subterfuge  and 
concealment.     The  Psalmist  declares  that  they  would  not 
succeed  by  any  such  vain  artifice  in  hiding  themselves  from 
God. 


^  "  Que  le  Prophete  a  voulu  par  ce  regard  obscur  de  r>ieu,  toucher  au 
vif  les  coeurs  des  hommes,  afin  qu'ila  tremblent." — Fr. 


62  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCVII. 

6.  The  heavens  have  declared  his  righteousness,  and  all  the  people 

have  seen  his  glory, 

7.  Confounded  be  all  those  who  serve  graven  images,  v^ho  glory 

in  their  inventions  ;^  let  all  the  gods  worship  before  him. 

8.  Zion  heard,  and  was  glad ;  and  the  daughters  ofJudah'^  rejoiced 

because  of  thy  judgments,  0  Jehovah  I 

6.  The  heavens  have  declared  his  righteousness.  Here  he 
states  that  there  would  be  such  an  illustrious  display  of  the 
rio-hteousness  of  God,  that  the  heavens  themselves  would  herald 
it.  The  meaning  is  not  the  same  as  in  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  psalm,  "  The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  God," 
&c.  In  that  psalm  David  means  no  more  than  that  the 
wisdom  and  power  of  God  are  as  conspicuous  in  the  fabric 
of  the  heavens,  as  if  God  should  assert  them  with  an  audible 
voice.  The  meaning  of  the  passage  before  us  is,  that  the 
spii'itual  righteousness  of  God  should  be  so  signally  manifested 
under  the  reign  of  Christ  as  to  fill  both  heaven  and  earth. 
There  is  much  force  in  this  personification,  in  which  the 
heavens,  as  if  even  they  were  penetrated  with  a  sense  of  the 
righteousness  of  God,  are  represented  as  speaking  of  it.  It 
is  equally  probable,  however,  that  the  heavens  signify  here 
the  angels,  who  are  contained  in  heaven,  by  the  figiure  of  meto- 
nomy  or  synecdoche,  while,  in  the  corresponding  clause, 
instead  of  the  earth  being  mentioned,  he  speaks  of  the  peoples 
who  dwell  upon  it.  The  angels  may  very  properly  be  said 
to  announce  and  celebrate  the  Divine  glory, 

7.  Confounded  he  all  those  who  serve  graven  images.  The 
Psalmist  draws  a  broad  distinction  here,  as  in  the  psalm  next 


^  "  Ou,  idoles." — Ft.  marg.  "  Or,  idols."  The  original  word  here  is 
Qt'pi'pi^,  elilim.     See  note  2,  p.  50. 

2  "  Judah's  daughters^  the  inferior  towns  and  villages  of  Judea,  so  called 
with  reference  to  the  metropolis,  or  mother  city.  This  is  a  very  elegant 
kind  of  personification,  by  which  the  subject,  adjunct,  accident,  etlect, 
or  the  like,  of  any  thing  or  place  is  called  the  son,  or,  as  in  tliis  instance, 
the  daughter  of  that  thing  or  place.  Hence  the  Hebrew  poets  often 
introduce,  as  it  were,  on  the  stage,  nations,  countries,  or  kingdoms, 
clothed  in  the  dress  of  women,  and  performing  all  the  functions  suited 
to  such  a  character.  The  practice  is  familiar  to  our  minds  ;  but  proba- 
bly it  is  so  rendered  by  our  habitual  acquaintance  with  the  Hebrew  idiom, 
to  which  it  appears  to  owe  its  origin." — Mant  on  P.^abn  xlviii.  11. 


PSALM  XCVII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  65 

to  this,  between  the  true  God  and  the  false  gods  which  men 
form  for  themselves.  This  he  does  that  the  praise  which  he 
had  ascribed  might  not  be  applied  to  any  but  the  true  God. 
Men  are  all  ready  to  admit  that  they  ought  to  celebrate  the 
praises  of  God,  but,  naturally  prone  as  they  are  to  supersti- 
tion, few  indeed  will  be  bound  down  to  worship  God  in  the 
manner  which  is  right.  No  sooner  have  they  to  do  with 
God  than  they  deviate  into  the  most  baseless  delusions. 
Each  fashions  a  god  for  himself,  and  all  choose  what  suits 
them  best  in  the  medley  of  inventions.  This  is  the  reason 
why  the  sacred  writers,  under  the  apprehension  that  men 
may  turn  to  false  gods,  are  careful  in  giving  exhortations  to 
the  worship  of  God,  to  state  at  the  same  time  who  the  true 
God  is.  The  order  observed  by  the  Psalmist  suggests  the 
remark,  that  corrupt  superstitions  will  never  be  removed 
until  the  true  religion  obtains.  Prevented  from  coming  to 
the  true  God  by  the  slowness  of  their  spiritual  apprehension, 
men  cannot  fail  to  wander  in  vanities  of  their  own  ;  and  it  is 
the  knowledge  of  the  true  God  which  dispels  these,  as  the  sun 
disperses  the  darkness.  All  have  naturally  a  something  of 
religion  born  with  them,'  but  owing  to  the  blindness  and 
stupidity,  as  well  as  the  weakness  of  our  minds,  the  appre- 
hension which  we  conceive  of  God  is  immediately  depraved. 
Religion  is  thus  the  beginning  of  all  superstitions,  not  in  its 
own  nature,  but  through  the  darkness  which  has  settled  doAvn 
upon  the  minds  of  men,  and  which  prevents  them  from  dis- 
tinguishing between  idols  and  the  true  God.  The  truth  of 
God  is  effectual  when  revealed  in  dispelling  and  dissipating 
superstitions.  Does  the  sun  absorb  the  vapours  which  inter- 
vene in  the  air,  and  shall  not  the  presence  of  God  himself  be 
effectual  much  more  ?  We  need  not  wonder  then  that  the 
Psalmist,  in  predicting  the  Kingdom  of  God,  triumphs  over 
the  ungodly  nations,  which  boasted  in  graven  images,  as 
when  Isaiah,  speaking  of  the  rise  of  the  Gospel,  adds,  "  Then 
all  the  idols  of  Egypt  shall  fall,"  (Isa.  xix.  1.)  Since  the 
knowledge  of  God  has  been  hid  from  the  view  of  men,  we 
are  taught  also  that  there  is  no  reason  to  be  surprised  at  the 


1    u 


Les  hommes  out  naturellemcnt  quelque  religion,"  &c. — Fr. 


64  COMMENTARY  UPON  TS.VLM  XCVII. 

host  of  superstitions  which  have  overspread  the  world.  We 
have  an  exemplification  of  the  same  truth  in  our  own  day. 
The  knowledge  of  the  true  doctrine  is  extinguished  amongst 
the  Turks,  the  Jews,  and  Papists,  and,  as  a  necessary  conse- 
quence, they  lie  immersed  in  error  ;  for  they  cannot  possibly 
return  to  a  sound  mind,  or  repent  of  their  errors,  when  they 
are  ignorant  of  the  true  God.  When  the  Psalmist  speaks  of 
their  being  confounded^  he  means  that  the  time  was  come 
when  those  who  were  given  to  idolatry  should  repent,  and 
return  to  the  worship  of  the  true  God.  Not  that  all  without 
exception  would  be  brought  to  genuine  repentance, — for  expe- 
rience has  taught  us  in  these  our  own  times  how  atheistical 
men^  will  cast  off  superstition,  and  yet  assume  the  most  shame- 
less effrontery, — but  that  this  is  one  of  those  consequences 
which  the  knowledge  of  God  should  eflfect,  the  turning  of  men 
fi'om  their  errors  unto  God.  Some  there  are  who  obstinately 
resist  God,  of  which  we  have  many  examples  in  the  Papacy ; 
but  we  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  they  are  secretly 
prostrated  by  that  which  they  affect  to  despise,  and  con- 
founded notwithstanding  their  opposition.  What  the  Psalm- 
ist says  a  little   after,  Let  all  the  gods^  icorship  before  him, 

^  "  Lucianici homines." — Lat.  "  Disciples  de  Lucian  et  Atheistes." — Fr. 

2  With  the  exception  of  the  Chaldee,  which,  instead  of  "  gods,"  has 
"  people,"  all  the  ancient  versions  translate  angels — all  his  angels,  as  if 
theHebrew  reading  had  originally  been  V3N^D  ^3,  and  not  as  in  oui*  present 
copies,  D^'^^x  ^3-  It  has  indeed  been  questioned  whether  o^■|^s,  elohim, 
can  be  correctly  translated  angels.  The  most  of  modern  lexicographers 
and  critics  reject  this  sense  of  the  word.  "  But  usage,  after  all,"  says 
Moses  Stuart,  "  pleads  in  favour  of  it.  The  Septuagint  render  ^x  (God) 
by  oiyyiT^o;,  iu  Job  XX.  15 ;  and  QTl^X  by  olyyi'hoi,  in  Psalm  viii.  6 ; 
xcvi.  7 ;  cxxxvii.  1.  Paul  follows  them  by  quoting  Psalm  viii.  6  in 
Heb.  ii.  7  ;  and  also  by  quoting  Psalm  xcvii.  7  in  Heb.  i.  6 ;  i.e.,  sup- 
posing that  he  does  actually  quote  it.  Is  not  this  sufficient  evidence  that 
there  was  a  ustis  loque7idi  among  the  Jews,  which  applied  the  word 
D^'^^^<  occasionally  to  designate  angels  ?  It  is  admitted  that  kings  and 
magistrates  are  called  elohim,  because  of  their  rank  or  dignity.  Is  there 
any  thing  improbable  in  the  supposition  that  angels  may  be  also  called 
C:^'^^X)  who  at  present  are  elevated  above  men,  Heb.  ii.  7  ?" 

Stuart,  in  the  above  remarks,  speaks  as  if  it  were  doubtful  whether 
Paul  in  Heb.  i.  6,  "  And  again,  when  he  bringeth  the  first-begotten 
into  the  world,  he  saith.  And  let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him," 
quotes  from  the  7th  verse  of  the  97th  Psalm.  Commentators  are  divided 
in  opinion  on  this  point,  some  maintaining  that  the  quotation  is  from 
Psalm  xcvii.,  and  others  that  itisfromDeut.  xxxii.43,  in  the  Septuagint 
version,  where  the  very  words  are  found  which  appear  in  Heb.  i.  6, 
although  only  in  tliat  version  ;  the  Hebrew  and  all  the  ancient  versions 


PSALM  XCVII. 


THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  65 


properly  applies  to  the  angels,  in  whom  there  shines  forth 
some  small  portion  of  divinity,  yet  it  may,  though  less  appro- 
priately, be  extended  to  fictitious  gods ;  as  if  he  had  said. 
Whatever  is  accounted  or  held  as  a  god  must  quit  its  place 
and  renounce  its  claims,  that  God  alone  may  be  exalted. 
Hence  it  may  be  gathered  that  the  true  definition  of  piety 
is,  when  the  true  God  is  perfectly  served,  and  when  he  alone 
is  so  exalted,  that  no  creature  obscures  his  divinity ;  and, 
accordingly,  if  we  would  not  have  true  piety  entirely  de- 
stroyed amongst  us,  we  must  hold  by  this  principle,  That  no 
creature  whatever  be  exalted  by  us  beyond  measure. 

8.  Zion  heard,  and  was  glad.  In  the  former  part  of  the 
psalm  he  had  spoken  of  that  joy  which  should  be  common  to 
all  the  world.  Now  he  makes  special  mention  of  God's 
chosen  nation ;  and  this  partly,  because  they  were  to  enjoy 

being  without  them.  One  diflRcnlty  attending  the  supposition  of  his 
quoting  from  Deut.  xxxii.  43  is,  that  the  subject  connected  with  this 
command  to  the  angels  (if  Ave  admit  the  clause  in  the  Septuagint  to  be  a 
pai-t  of  the  sacred  text)  has  no  relation  to  the  Messiah.  The  context 
celebrates  the  victory  over  the  enemies  of  Israel,  which  God  will  achieve. 
After  saying  that  '  his  arms  should  be  drunk  with  blood,  and  that  his 
sword  should  devour  flesh  with  the  blood  of  the  slain  and  of  captives, 
fi-om  the  time  when  he  begins  to  take  vengeance  on  the  enemy,'  the 
Septuagint  (not  the  Hebrew)  immediately  inserts,  iv^^ocvhn  ov^uuol  oifix 

uvru  Kcci  Tr^(i<TX,vvifj(Tot,rcorrctu   otvro)  Trecvrsg  oiyyihoi  SsoS.      Tliis  iu  the  place 

where  it  stands  must  mean,  "  Let  the  inhabitants  of  the  heavenly  world 
rejoice  in  the  victory  of  God  over  the  enemies  of  his  people,  and  let  tliem 
pay  their  adoration  to  him."  But  the  Messiah  does  not  seem  to  be  at 
all  alluded  to  any  where  in  the  context,  much  less  described  as  being 
introduced  into  the  wo7id.  It  is  not  therefore  very  likely  that  this  is  the 
passage  quoted,  unless  we  suppose  that  Paul  borrowed  the  words  merely 
as  fitted  to  express  the  idea  which  he  intended  to  convey,  without  any 
reference  to  their  original  meaning.  The  probability  is  in  favour  of  a 
quotation  from  the  text  before  us  ;  which  in  the  Septuagint  runs  thus  : 

-Tr^oatcvuvjaUTe   uvra   TrocvTii   u,yyihot  uvrov.      Paul's  WOrds  are,  >ixi  vr^oa- 

Kvumocrucfotv  ctWu  -Trcturtg  a.yye'hoi  Qiov.  Here  the  variation  from  the 
Septuagint  is  so  very  inconsiderable,  making  no  change  upon  the  sense 
of  the  passage,  that  the  discrepancy,  especially  when  it  is  considered  that 
very  few  of  the  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  in  the  New  agree 
verbatim  either  with  the  Hebrew  or  Septuagint,  is  no  argument  against 
the  supposition  of  the  Apostle's  quoting  this  text  fi'om  that  version 
which  was  in  general  use  among  the  Jews.  And  this  psalm  admits  of 
an  easy  application  to  the  coming  and  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  whose 
advent  was  to  destroy  idolatry,  and  be  the  source  of  rejoicing  and  hap- 
piness to  all  the  righteous,  which  the  passage  in  Deuteronomy  referred 
to  does  not. — Sec  ISiuart's  Commentary  on  Heb.  i.  6,  and  Excursus  vi. 

VOL.  IV.  E 


66  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCVII. 

the  first-fruits  of  this  joy,  and  partly,  because  he  would  re- 
move all  occasion  for  rivalry  or  envy.  Accordingly,  having 
said  that  the  Gentile  nations  should  be  brought  to  equal 
privileges  with  the  posterity  of  Abraham,  he  adds,  that  the 
Jews  would  not  suffer  any  diminution  of  honour  by  this  co- 
partnership of  privilege,  but  might  rather  reasonably  rejoice 
in  being;  chosen  of  God  to  be  the  fountain  out  of  which  the 
world  was  to  be  watered  and  refreshed.  Those  of  whom  the 
Psalmist  speaks  were  the  true  children  of  Abraham  and  them 
only.  They  had  a  double  reason  for  rejoicing,  when  God 
extended  his  government  and  glory  from  the  rising  to  the 
setting  sun  ;  for,  while  he  exhibited  to  them  in  Christ  the 
complete  fulfilment  of  that  redemption  which  was  promised, 
they,  at  the  same  time,  saw  the  glory  of  God  diffused  from 
the  narrow  limits  of  Judea  to  all  parts  of  the  world.  When 
the  nations  were  blessed  in  the  seed  of  Abraham,  agreeably 
to  the  prediction  which  had  gone  before,  this  was  no  incon- 
siderable confirmation  of  their  faith,  as  also,  when  they  saw 
a  religion  which  had  been  hated  and  despised  universally 
embraced.  But  why,  it  may  be  asked,  does  he  speak  of  those 
things  being  heard,  rather  than  seen  ?  Two  reasons  may  be 
given  for  this.  First,  he  would  have  God's  believing  people 
anticipate  the  blessing  by  hope,  ere  the  consummation  of  it 
arrived ;  and,  again,  the  language  intimates,  that  the  glory 
of  the  Gospel  would  be  spread  to  such  distant  quarters,  that 
the  Jews  would  rather  hear  of  it  by  report,  than  witness  it 
with  their  own  eyes. 

9,  For  thou,  Jehovah,  art  high  above  all  the  earth  :  thou  art 
exalted  far  above  all  gods. 

10.  Ye  that  love  Jehovah,  hate  evil :  he  preserveth  the  souls  of 

his  meeh  ones  ;  he  will  deliver  them  out  of  the  hand  of  the 
wicked. 

11.  Light  has  been  sown  for  the  righteous,  and  gladness  for  the 

upright  in  heart. 

12.  Rejoice  in  Jehovah,  ye  righteous,  and  celebrate  the  memory  of 

his  holiness. 

9.  For  thou,  Jehovah,  art  high  above  all  the  earth.     Having 
already,  in  another  place,  explained  these  Avords,  I  shall  not 


PSALM  XCVII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  67 

say  more  at  present  upon  them.  Only  it  is  to  be  noticed, 
that  there  is  a  comparison  drawn  between  God  and  the 
angels,  and  whatever  has  any  claim  to  eminence.  The 
Psalmist  limits  all  other  excellency  in  such  a  manner,  as  to 
leave  no  room  for  questioning  that  all  majesty  is  compre- 
hended in  God  only.  This  was  the  case  more  eminently 
when  God  manifested  himself  in  his  only-begotten  Son,  who 
is  the  express  image  of  himself.  Before  that  period  his 
greatness  was  less  apparent,  because  he  was  less  known. 

10.  Ye  that  love  Jehovah,  hate  evil.  Those  that  fear  God  are 
here  enjoined  to  practise  righteousness,  as  Paul  says,  "  Let 
every  one  that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ  depart  from  ini- 
quity," (2  Tim.  ii.  19.)  He  shows  from  the  very  nature  of 
God,  that  we  cannot  be  judged  and  acknowledged  to  be  his 
servants  unless  we  depart  from  sin,  and  practise  holiness. 
God  is  in  himself  the  fountain  of  righteousness,  and  he  must 
necessarily  hate  all  iniquity,  unless  we  could  suppose  that  he 
should  deny  himself;  and  we  have  fellowship  with  him  only 
on  the  terms  of  separation  from  unrighteousness.  As  the 
persecution  of  the  wicked  is  apt  to  provoke  us  to  seek  re- 
venge, and  unwarrantable  methods  of  escape,  the  Psalmist 
guards  us  against  this  temptation,  by  asserting  that  God  is 
the  keeper  and  protector  of  his  people.  If  persuaded  of 
being  under  the  Divine  guardianship,  we  will  not  strive  with 
the  wicked,  nor  retaliate  injury  upon  those  who  have  wronged 
us,  but  commit  our  safety  to  him  who  will  faithfully  defend 
it.  This  gracious  act  of  condescension,  by  which  God  takes 
us  under  his  care,  should  serve  as  a  check  to  any  impatience 
we  might  feel  in  abstaining  from  what  is  evil,^  and  preserving 
the  course  of  integrity  under  provocation. 

11.  Light  has  heensoivn  for  the  righteous.  He  confirms  the 
truth  just  advanced,  and  anticipates  an  objection  which 
might  be  brought  against  it.  We  have  seen  that  the  Lord's 
people  are  often  treated  with  the  utmost  cruelty  and  injus- 

^  "  De  nous  tenir  en  bride,  de  penr  qu'il  ne  nous  soit  fascheux  ou  grief 
de  nous  absteuir  de  malice,"  &c. — Fr. 


68  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCVII. 

tlce,  and  would  seem  to  be  abandoned  to  the  fury  of  their 
enemies.     The  Psahnist  reminds  us  for  our  encouragement 
that  God,  even  when  he  does  not  immediately  deliver  his 
children,  upholds  them  by  his  secret  power.^     In  the  first 
clause  of  the  verse  there  is  a  double  metaphor.     By  light  is 
meant  joy,  or  a  prosperous  issue,  (according  to  a  phraseology 
which  is  common  in  Scripture,)  as  darkness  denotes  adversity. 
The  latter  metaphor  of  sowing  is  rather  more  difficult  to 
understand.^     Some  think  that  gladness  is  sown  for  the  just, 
as  seed  which,  when  cast  into  the  ground,  dies  or  lies  buried 
in  the  earth  a  considerable  time  before  it  germinates.     This 
idea  may  be  a  good  one ;  but,  perhaps,  the  simplest  meaning 
of  the  words  is  the  following,  that  though  the  righteous  may 
be  almost  banished  out  of  the  world,  and  unable  to  venture 
themselves  forth  in  public,  and  hidden  from  view,  God  will 
spread  abroad  their  joy  like  seed,  or  bring  forth  to  notice  the 
light  of  their  joy  which  had  been  shut  up.   The  second  clause 
of  the  verse  is  an  exegesis  of  the  first — Ughthemg  interpreted 
to  mean  joy,  and  the  righteous  such  as  are  upright  in  heart. 
This  definition  of  righteousness  is  worthy  of  notice.  That  it 
does  not  consist  in  a  mere  outward  appearance,  but  compre- 
hends integrity  of  heart,  more  being  required  to  constitute  us 
righteous  in  God's  sight  than  that  we  simply  keep  our  tongue, 
hands,  or  feet,  from  wickedness.     In  the  concluding  verse  he 
exhorts  the  Lord's  people  to  gratitude,  that  looking  upon 
God  as  their  Redeemer,  they  should  lead  a  life  correspond- 


1  "  Qnamvis  non  statim  suos  Hberet  Deus,  arcana  tamen  virtute  tucri 
eonim  salutem." — Lat. 

2  Walford  objects  to  the  version  light  is  sown,  on  the  ground  that  it 
presents  an  incongruous  combination  of  figures ;  and  he  translates,  "  light 
is  diffused."  "  Who  can  say,"  he  remarks,  "what  is  meant  by  the  sow- 
ing of  light  ?  The  diffusion  or  expansion  of  light  is  intelligible,  and  means 
that  though  good  men  may  be  in  darkness  or  adversity,  light  and  pros- 
perity will  burst  through  the  cloud."  The  Septuagint,  Vulgate,  Arabic, 
and  Ethiopic  versions  translate, ''  light  is  risen  for  the  righteous,"  probably 
reading  niTi  ^arach,  which  De  Rossi  found  in  one  manuscript,  instead  of 
y-1^,  zara.  Houbigant  and  others  adopt  this  reading,  conceiving  it  to  be 
more  agreeable  to  the  common  idea  of  light.  But  Muis  vindicates  the 
text  from  Psalm  cxxvi.  5;  and  Archbishop  Seeker  thinks  "sown''  a 
very  proper  expression.  In  support  of  the  same  rendering,  Merrick,  in 
his  Annotations,  quotes  several  passages  from  the  classic  Greek  authors, 
in  which  both  light  and  gladness  are  said  to  be  sown. 


PSALM  XCVIII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  69 

ing  to  the  mercy  they  have  received,  and  rest  contented  under 
all  the  evils  they  encounter,  with  the  consciousness  that  they 
enjoy  his  protection. 


PSALM  XCVIII. 

This  psalm  has  a  gi'eat  resemblance  to  the  ninety-sixth,  not  only  in 
matter,  but  language.  The  great  scope  of  it  is  to  show  that  the  glory 
of  God  would  be  illustriously  displayed  in  the  spread  of  the  knowledge 
of  his  name  throughout  the  world,  both  from  the  more  ample  fulfil- 
ment which  would  be  given  upon  the  manifestation  of  the  Saviour,  to 
the  promises  made  to  the  posterity  of  Abraham,  and  from  the  sudden 
extension  of  salvation  to  all  parts  of  the  earth.  He  calls  upon  men  to 
magnify  the  name  of  God  on  this  account. 

1  A  Psalm. 

1 .  Sing  unto  Jehovah  a  new  song,  for  he  hath  done  marvellous 

things  :  his  own  right  hand,  and  the  arm  of  his  holiness, 
hath  gotten  him  the  victory.^ 

2.  Jehovah  hath  made  known  his  salvation:  his  righteousness  he 

hath  revealed  in  the  sight  of  the  heathen. 

3.  He  hath  remembered  his  goodness  and  truth  towards  the  house 

of  Israel  :  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  have  seen  the  salvation 
of  our  God.^ 

1.  Sing  unto  Jehovah  a  new  song.  I  have  already  remarked, 
that  the  expression  here  used  denotes  an  extraordinary,  not  a 
common,  ascription  of  praise.  This  appears  from  the  reason  as- 
signed for  it,  That  God  had  manifested  his  salvation  in  a  singu- 


^  The  last  clause  is  "literally,  have  wrought  deliverance  for  him,  i.e.,  not 
deliverance  of  him,  as  if  God  had  been  himself  in  danger  or  distress  ;  but 
that  is  done  for  any  one,  which  is  done  agreeably  to  his  wishes  and  in- 
tentions, and  at  his  instigation.  The  original,  therefore,  expresses,  that  the 
deliverance  wrought  was  originally  designed  and  decreed  by  God,  and  that 
his  immediate  power  effected  the  thing  intended  without  any  other  aid." — 
Horsley.  Street  translates,  "  hath  Avrought  salvation  for  us."  He  thinks 
that  instead  of  )^,for  him,  we  should  read  id*?, /or  us. 

2  The  last  part  of  this  verse  is  in  the  same  words  with  Isaiah  lii.  10. 


70  C03IMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCVIII. 

lar  and  Incredible  manner.     For  having  spoken  of  marvellous 
things,  he  represents  this  as  the  sum  of  all,  that  God  had  pro- 
cured salvation  with  his  own  right  hand ;  ^  thatis,  not  by  human 
means,  or  in  an  ordinary  way,  but  delivering  his  Church  in 
an  unprecedented  manner.     Isaiah  enlarges  upon  this  mira- 
cle of  God's  power  :  "  The  Lord  looked  if  there  were  any 
to  help,  and  wondered  that  there  was  no  intercessor  :  there- 
fore his  own   arm  brought  salvation,  and  his  righteousness 
sustained  him,"  (chap.  lix.  16.)     In  both  passages  the  arm  of 
God  stands  opposed  to  ordinary  means,  which  although  when 
employed   they  derogate   nothing  from   the  glory  of  God, 
yet  prevent  us   from   so  fully  discovering  his  presence  as 
we   might   otherwise    do.     The   language    of  the   Psalmist 
amounts    to   a   declaration  that  God   would  not   save   the 
world  by  means  of  an  ordinary  kind,  but  would  come  forth 
himself  and  show  that  he  was  the  author  of  a  salvation  in 
every    respect    so    singular.      He    reasonably    infers    that 
mercy  of  such  a  wonderful,  and,  to  us,  incomprehensible  kind, 
should  be  celebrated  by  no  ordinary  measures  of  praise.    This 
is  brought  out  still  more  clearly  in  the  verse  which  follows, 
where  it  is  said  that  his  salvation  and  righteousness  are  shown 
to  the  nations.     What  could  have  been  less  looked  for  than 
that  light  should  have  arisen  upon  these  dark  and  benighted 
places,  and  that  righteousness  should  have  appeared  in  the 
habitations  of  desperate  wickedness  ?    Salvation  is  mentioned 
first,  although  it  is,  properly  speaking,  the  effect  of  righteous- 
ness.   Such  an  inversion  of  the  natural  order  is  often  observed 
in  stating  divine  benefits  ;  nor  is  it  surprising  that  what  is 
the  means,  and  should  be  mentioned  first,  is  sometimes  set 
last,  and  follows  by  way  of  explanation.     1  may  add,  that 
the  righteousness  of  God,  which  Is  the  source  of  salvation, 
does  not  consist  in  his  recompensing  men  according  to  their 
works,  but  is  just  the  illustration  of  his  mercy,  grace,  and 
faithfulness. 

3.  He  hath  remembered  his  goodness.     Having  spoken  of  the 


*  "  Car  apres  avoir  parle  des  miracles,  il  les  restreint  specialement  a 
nne  somme,  as^avoir,  que  Dieu  s  ^est  acquis  salutpar  sapropre  vertu." — Fr. 


PSALM  XCVIII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  71 

general  manifestation  of  bis  salvation,  he  now  celebrates  his 
goodness  more  particularly  to  his  own  chosen  people.  God 
exhibited  himself  as  a  Father  to  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews ; 
but  to  the  Jews  first,  who  were,  so  to  speak,  the  first-born.^ 
The  glory  of  the  Gentiles  lay  in  their  being  adopted  and  in- 
grafted into  the  holy  family  of  Abraham,  and  the  salvation 
of  the  whole  world  sprung  from  the  promise  made  to  Abra- 
ham, as  Christ  said,  "  Salvation  is  of  the  Jews,"  (John  iv. 
22.)  The  Psalmist  therefore  very  properly  observes,  that 
God  in  redeeming  the  world  remembered  his  truth,  which  he 
had  given  to  Israel  his  people — language,  too,  which  implies 
that  he  was  influenced  by  no  other  motive  than  that  of  faith- 
fully performing  what  he  had  himself  promised.^  The  more 
clearly  to  show  that  the  promise  was  not  grounded  at  all  on 
the  merit  or  righteousness  of  man,  he  mentions  the  goodness 
of  God  first,  and  afterwards  \i\&  faithfulness,  which  stood  con- 
nected with  it.  The  cause,  in  short,  was  not  to  be  found  out 
of  God  himselfj  (to  use  a  common  expression,)  but  in  his  mere 
good  pleasure,  which  had  been  testified  long  before  to  Abi'a- 
ham  and  his  posterity.  The  word  remembered  is  used  in 
accommodation  to  man's  apprehension  ;  for  what  has  been 
long  suspended  seems  to  have  been  forgotten.  Upwards  of 
two  thousand  years  elapsed  from  the  time  of  giving  the  pro- 
mise to  the  appearance  of  Christ,  and  as  the  people  of  God 
were  subjected  to  many  afflictions  and  calamities,  we  need 
not  wonder  that  they  should  have  sighed,  and  given  way  to 
ominous  fears  regarding  the  fulfilment  of  this  redemption. 
When  it  is  added,  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  have  seen  the  salva- 
tion of  God,  this  is  not  merely  commendatory  of  the  great- 
ness of  the  salvation,  meaning  that  it  should  be  so  illustrious 
that  the  report  of  it  Avould  reach  the  ends  of  the  earth  ;  but 
it  signifies  that  the  nations  formerly  immersed  in  delusions 
and  superstitions  would  participate  in  it. 

4.  Exult  hefore  Jehovah  all  the  earth ;  make  a  loud  noise,  and 
rejoice,  and  sing  praise. 

1  "  Afin  qu'ils  fussent  commo  les  aisnez." — Fr. 

2  "  Qu'il  n'a  point  este  induit  par  autre  raison,  sinon  afin  que  fidcle- 
ment  il  accomplist  ce  qu'il  avoit  promis." — Fr. 


72  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCVIII. 

5.  Sing  to  Jehovah  iipon  the  harp,  upon  the  harp,  and  loith  the 

voice  of  a  psalm.^ 

6.  With  trumpets,  and  sound  of  the  cornet,  sing  before   Je- 

hovah the  King. 

7.  Let  the  sea  roar,  and  the  fulness  thereof ;    the  world,  and 

those  xvho  dwell  therein.'^ 

8.  Let  the  foods  clap  their  hands  :'^    let  the  hills  be  joyful  to- 

gether, 

9.  Before  Jehovah  :  for  he  cometh  to  judge  the  earth  ;    with 

righteousness  shall  he  judge  the  world,  and  the  people  with 
uprightness. 

4,  Exult  before  Jehovah  all  the  earth.  Here  he  repeats 
the  exhortation  with  which  he  had  begun,  and  by  addressing 
it  to  the  nations  at  large,  he  indicates  that  when  God  should 
break  down  the  middle  wall  of  partition  all  would  be  gathered 
to  the  common  faith,  and  one  Church  formed  throughout  the 

*  Horsley  reads — 

"  Chant  unto  Jehovah  to  the  harp, 
To  the  harp,  and  the  sound  of  the  zimrah." 
"  mJ^T  here,"  he  remarks,  "as  in  Psalm  Ixxxi.  2,  is  certainly  the  name 
of  some  musical  instrument.     But  what  the  particular  instrument  might 
be,  which  went  by  that  name,  is  quite  uncertain.     I  therefore  retain  the 
Hebrew  word." 

'  Street  is  of  opinion  that  the  nominative  cases  of  the  concluding  part 
of  this  verse  do  not  belong  to  the  verb  of  the  preceding  clause,  but  to  the 
verb  in  the  subsequent  verse.  "  Roar  let  the  globe,"  says  he,  "  '  and 
those  that  inhabit  it,'  is  not  so  proper  an  expression  as  '  Let  the  globe 
and  those  that  inhabit  it  clap  the  hand.'  " 

*  "  Let  the  floods  clap  their  hands,'"  is  a  most  beautiful  prosopopoeia, 
a  figure  for  which  the  Hebrew  poets  are  remarkable,  and  which  tlicy 
manage  with  equal  elegance  and  boldness.  Horsley  renders,  "Let  the 
floods  sound  applause  ;"  observing,  that  it  is  literally  "  clap  their  hands." 
*'  The  verb  p-|,"  he  adds,  "  expresses  the  vibratory  motion,  cither  of  a 
dancer's  feet,  or  of  a  singer's  lip.  Therefore,  when  applied  figuratively 
to  an  inanimate  thing  that  can  neither  dance  nor  sing,  it  is  better  to 
render  its  general  sense  than  to  confine  it  to  either  particular  image.  Our 
language  has  no  word,  which,  like  the  Hebrew,  may  express  dancing  or 
singing  indiscruninately."  The  propriety  of  deviating  from  the  literal 
rendering  may,  however,  be  questioned.  This  ode  is  highly  animated ; 
it  is  a  burst  of  joy  in  God  raised  to  the  highest  pitch ;  and  it  is  the  property 
of  this  emotion,  when  felt  in  a  high  degree,  to  express  itself  in  the  most 
daring  and  imusual  figm'es.  It  may  be  added,  that  the  whole  of  the 
seventh  and  eighth  verses  furnish  a  beautiful  specimen  of  personification. 
With  a  sublimity  of  sentiment  and  an  energy  of  language  which  cannot 
be  surpassed,  all  nature,  animate  and  inanimate,  is  summoned  to  unite 
in  the  song  of  joy,  and  to  contend  with  eager  rivahy  in  celebrating  the 
praises  of  its  Creator. 


PSALM  XCIX,  THE  BOOK  OF  TSALMS.  73 

whole  world.  When  he  speaks  of  musical  instruments  the 
allusion  is  evidently  to  the  practice  of  the  Church  at  that 
time,  without  any  intention  of  binding  do\^^l  the  Gentiles  to 
the  observance  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  law.  The  repeti- 
tion made  use  of  is  emphatical,  and  implies  that  the  most 
ardent  attempts  men  might  make  to  celebrate  the  great  work 
of  the  world's  redemption  would  fall  short  of  the  riches  of 
the  grace  of  God.  This  is  brought  out  still  more  forcibly  in 
what  follows,  where  feeling  is  ascribed  to  things  inanimate. 
The  whole  passage  has  been  elsewhere  expounded,  and  it  is 
unnecessary  to  insist  further  upon  it. 


PSALM  XCIX. 

This  psalm  differs  from  those  which  precede  it  in  one  respect,  that  it 
speaks  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  blessings  consequent  upon  it, 
as  confined  within  Judea  ;  and  rather  caUs  upon  the  posterity  of  Abra- 
ham, in  distinction  from  the  surrounding  nations,  to  praise  God  for  the 
privilege  of  their  adoption. 

1.  Jehovah  reigns ;  let  the  people  tremble:  he  dwells  between  the 

cherubim;   let  the  earth  be  moved, 

2.  Jehovah  is  great  in  Zion ;  and  he  is  high  above  all  nations. 

3.  They  shall  acknowledge  thy  great  and  terrible  name  ;  it  is 

holy. 

4.  The  king's  strength^  also  loves  judgment ;  thou  hast  established 

equity,    thou    hast   done  judgment  and  righteousness   in 
Jacob. 

1  "  The  king^s  strength  seems  here  put  for  the  king  him  self." — Merrick. 
Street  removes  the  original  word  for  strength  to  the  end  of  the  preceding 
verse,  reading  holy  and  mighttj ;  and  renders  the  first  part  of  this  verso 
tlius  :  "  Thou  art  a  king  that  lovcst  judgment ;"  observing,  that  in  the 
Hebrew  it  is  ■]'?jd,  melech,  not  -]^)on>  hamelech,  that  the  word  ^nXi  aheh, 
that  lovest,  is  a  participle  here,  and  that  the  pronoun  nnXi  ateh,  thou,  be- 
longs to  the  first  clause.  "  According  to  the  translation  of  the  English 
Bible,"  says  he,  "  there  is  a  great  want  of  connection.  '  The  king's 
strength  also  loveth  judgment :  thou  dost  establish  equity,'  &c.  There 
had  been  no  king  spoken  of  before  except  Jehovah,  and  the  Psalmist  is 
here  addressing  him  in  the  second  person,  not  speaking  of  him  in  the 
third." 


74  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIX. 

1.  Jehovah  reigns.  The  people,  who  were  formerly  called 
upon  to  rejoice,  are  now  commanded  to  tremble.  For  as 
the  Jews  were  encompassed  by  enemies,  it  was  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  God's  power  should  be  magnified  among 
them,  that  they  itiight  know  that,  while  under  his  guardian- 
ship, they  would  be  constantly  and  completely  safe  from  the 
hatred  and  fury  of  every  foe.  The  Hebrew  word  '\y\,  ragaz, 
as  we  have  elsewhere  seen,  sometimes  signifies  to  tremble, 
at  other  times,  to  he  angry,  and,  in  short,  denotes  any  strong 
emotion  arising  either  from  anger  or  fear.^  Accordingly, 
the  prophet  here  intends  that  God,  in  the  emancipation  of 
his  chosen  people,  should  give  such  a  palpable  display  of  his 
power,  as  would  strike  all  the  nations  Avith  dismay,  and  make 
them  feel  how  madly  they  had  rushed  upon  their  own  de- 
struction. For  it  is  with  regard  to  men  that  God  is  said  to 
reign,  when  he  exalts  himself  by  the  magnificent  displays 
which  he  gives  of  his  power ;  because,  while  the  aid  which  he 
gives  to  them  remains  invisible,  unbelievers  act  a  more  pre- 
sumptuous part,  just  as  if  there  were  no  God. 

2.  Jehovah  in  Zion.     It  is  proper  that  we  should  not  for- 

1  fj-),  ragaz,  "  denoting  commotion  either  of  the  body  or  mind,  imports 
in  the  latter  acceptation  particularly  two  things,  fear  and  anger ^  those 
two  principal  emotions  of  the  mind.  In  the  sense  of  anger  we  have  it  in 
Gen.  xlv.  24,  where  we  render  it  falling  out  or  quarrelling^  and  in 
2  Kings  xix.  27,  28,  where  we  render  it  rage.  So  Prov.  xxix.  9,  and 
in  Gen.  xli.  10,  the  Hebrew  f]Vp,  (affirmed  of  Pharaoh,  viz.,  that)  he  teas 
wroth^  is  by  the  Chaldee  rendered  tj~i-  And  this  is  much  the  more  fre- 
quent acceptation  of  the  woi'd  in  the  Old  Testament." — Hammond's  note 
on  Psalm  iv.  4.  On  the  text  before  us,  after  observing  that  Abu  Walid 
explains  this  root  as  signifying  in  the  Ai-abic  trembling  and  commotion^ 
arising  sometimes  from  anger,  sometimes  from  fear,  and  other  causes,  the 
same  critic  says,  "  Here  the  context  may  seem  to  direct  the  taking  it  in 
the  notion  of  commotion  simply,  as  that  signifies  ccx.xru,(jra.aix,  sedition 
or  tumult  of  rebels  or  other  adversaries.  And  then  the  sense  avUI  be  thus  : 
'The  Lord  reigneth,  let  the  people  be  moved,' i.  e.,  Now  God  hath  set  up 
David  in  his  throne,  and  peaceably  settled  the  kingdom  in  him,  in  s])ite 
of  all  the  commotions  of  the  people.  The  LXX.  render  it  to  this  sense, 
as  Ps.  iv.  4,  6^yi(^eiTda<T»v  T^ecol,  '  let  the  people  be  angry  or  regret  it  as 
much  as  they  will.' "  The  verb  here,  and  the  concluding  verb  of  the  verse, 
may  be  read  in  the  future  tense  :  "  The  people  or  nations  shall  trem- 
ble, and  the  earth  shall  be  moved,"  just  as  at  the  giving  of  the  Law, 
"  the  people  trembled,"  and  "  the  earth  shook."  Thus  the  passage  may 
be  regarded  as  a  prediction  of  the  subjection  of  the  heathen  world  to 
the  dominion  of  Christ. 


PSALM  XCIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  75 

get  the  antithesis  I  formerly  mentioned,  namely,  that  God 
is  great  in  Zion  to  destroy  and  annihilate  all  the  enemies  of 
his  Church  ;  and  that,  when  the  Psalmist  goes  on  to  say,  he 
is  high  above  all  nations,  his  meaning  is,  not  that  he  presides 
over  them  to  promote  their  welfare,  but  to  disconcert  their 
counsels,  to  baffle  their  designs,  and  to  subvert  all  their 
power.  That  which  immediately  follows  about  the  praising 
of  God's  name,  refers  not  to  the  nations  at  large,  but  in  my 
opinion  to  the  faithful,  from  whom  alone  the  prophet  de- 
mands a  tribute  of  gratitude.  For  although  God  compels  hia 
vanquished  enemies  to  acknowledge  him,  yet  as  they  do  not 
cease  from  speaking  against  his  glory,  and  blaspheming  his 
holy  name,  it  cannot  be  to  them  that  the  exhortation  is 
addressed,  Praise  the  name  of  God,  for  it  is  holy ;  but  to  the 
faithful,  who,  from  their  knowledge  of  God's  holy  name,  very 
cordially  engage  in  the  celebration  of  its  praises. 

4.  The  king'' s  strength  alsohves  judgment.  This  may  be  viewed 
as  a  threatening  designed  to  fill  his  enemies  with  dismay  ;  as 
if  he  should  say,  such  is  God's  regard  for  righteousness  and 
equity,  that  he  hath  clothed  himself  with  power  to  avenge 
the  injuries  which  his  enemies  have  done  to  him.  I  think  it 
preferable,  however,  to  apply  it  to  the  Church,  because  she 
is  under  the  government  of  God  for  the  express  purpose^  of 
practising  righteousness  and  holiness.  There  is  another  in- 
terpretation which  is  by  no  means  objectionable,  namely, 
that  which  does  not  associate  ideas  of  tyranny  with  the 
government  of  God,  because  there  is  constant  concord  be- 
tween his  power  and  justice.  But  when  I  consider  the  whole 
context,  I  have  no  doubt,  that  the  prophet,  after  having  in- 
troduced God  as  established  upon  his  royal  throne,  now 
speaks  of  the  manner  in  which  he  governs  his  kingdom;  for 
he  adds,  thou  hast  established  equity  and  righteousness.  This 
clause  is  susceptible  of  two  interpretations  ;  either  that  God 
in  his  law  has  commanded  his  people  to  practise  perfect 
equity,  or  that,  in  supporting  and  defending  them,  he  has  uni- 
formly testified  his  great  regard  for  his  justice  and  equity. 

'  "  A  ceste  condition." — Fr.     "  Upon  condition." 


76  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIX. 

It  is  most  true  that  the  highest  equity  has  always  charac- 
terised the  works  and  judgments  of  God,  yet  it  appears 
more  probable  that  it  refers  to  that  system,  that  form 
of  government  which  God,  who  loves  justice,  appointed 
among  the  people  of  Israel,  and  which  was  the  best  rule  for 
leading  a  life  of  honesty  and  integrity.  And  hence  the  word 
to  do  is  improperly  taken  to  signify  to  order  or  command. 
Should  any  one  choose  to  consider  this  last  clause  as  relating 
to  God's  government,  I  am  by  no  means  disposed  to  disagree 
with  him.  For  there  is  nothing  that  more  animates  and 
encourages  the  faithfid  to  render  obedience  to  God,  or  in- 
spires them  with  greater  zeal  to  observe  his  law,  than  to  find 
in  this  course  of  action  that  they  are  the  objects  of  his  pa- 
ternal care,  and  that  the  righteousness,  which  he  requires 
from  his  own  people  in  words,  is  on  his  part  reciprocated  by 
kind  deeds. 

5.  Exalt  Jehovah  our  God,  and  worship  at  his  footstool ;  Ae' 

is  holy. 

6.  Moses  and  Aaron  among  his  priests,  and  Samuel  among  those 

who  call  upon  his  name ;  they  called  upon  Jehovah,  and 
he  answered  them. 

7.  He  spake  unto  them  in  the  cloudy  pillar:^  they  kept  his 

testimonies,  and  the  statute  which  he  gave  them. 

1  The  marginal  translation  in  our  English  Bible  is,  it  is  holy,  connect- 
ing holy  with  Jehovah's  footstool,  mentioned  in  the  preceding  clause. 
This  construction  appears  to  be  very  appropriate.  The  third,  the  fifth, 
and  in  effect  the  ninth  verses,  end  with  this  expression,  which  seems  to 
be  a  kind  of  chorus,  and  thus  divides  the  psalm  into  three  parts.  The 
first  part  tenniuates  with  ascribing  holiness  to  the  name  of  Jehovah  ;  the 
second  with  attributing  the  same  property  to  his  abode;  and  at  the  con- 
clusion, holiness,  essential,  infinite,  and  immutable  holiness,  is  ascribed 
to  Jehovah  himself. 

^  That  God  spoke  to  Moses  and  Aaron  out  of  the  cloudy  pillar,  there 
is  no  doubt.  In  Exod.  xvi.  10,  11,  we  read,  "  And  it  came  to  pass  as 
Aaron  spoke  unto  the  whole  congi-egation  of  the  children  of  Israel,  that 
they  looked  toward  the  wilderness,  and,  behold,  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
appeared  in  the  cloud.  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,"  &c. 
And  when  God  said  to  Moses,  Exod.  xvii.  6,  "  Behold,  I  wiU  stand  be- 
fore thee  there  upon  the  rock  in  Horeb,"  the  meanuig  undoubtedly  is, 
that  the  cloudy  pillar,  from  which  he  was  to  speak,  would  stand  upon 
Horeb.  See  also  Exod.  xix.  9,  18,  19.  To  this  intercourse  Aaron  as 
well  as  Moses  was  admitted,  as  we  learn  from  the  24th  verse  of  that 
chapter,  and  from  chap.  xx.  21,  22.  The  only  difficulty  here  is,  how  God 
can  be  said  to  have  spoken  to  Samuel  out  of  the  cloudy  pillar,  of  which 


PSALM  XCIX.  THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  77 

8.  0  Jehovah  our  God,  thou  didst  anstjoer  them :  thou  wast  a 

God  that  wast  favourable  to  them,  though  thou  didst  take 
vengeance  upon  their  inventions. 

9.  Exalt  Jehovah  our  God,  and  worship  at  his  holy  mountain ; 

for  Jehovah  our  God  is  holy. 

5.  Exalt  Jehovah  our  God.     This  exhortation  is  properly 
addressed  to  the  Church  alone,  because  having  been  made  a 
partaker  of  the  grace  of  God,  she  ought  the  more  zealously 
to  devote  herself  to  his  service,  and  to  the  love  of  godliness. 
The  Psalmist,  therefore,  calls  upon  the  Jews  to  exalt  that 
God  from  whom  they  had  received  such  manifest  help,  and 
enjoins  them  to  render  that  worship  appointed  in  his  Law. 
The  temple  indeed  is  frequently  in  other  places  denominated 
God''s  seat,  or  house,  or  rest,  or  dwelling-place ;  here  it  is 
called  his  footstool,  and  for  the  use  of  this  metaphor,  there 
is  the  best  of  all  reasons.     For  God  desired  to  dwell  in  the 
midst  of  his  people  in  such  a  manner,  as  not  only  to  direct 
their  thoughts  to  the  outward  temple  and  to  the  ark  of  the 
covenant,  but  rather  to  elevate  them  to  things  above.     Hence 
the  term  house  or  dwelling-place  tended  to  impart  courage 
and  confidence  to  them,  that  all  the  faithful  might  have  bold 
ness  to  draw  near  unto  God  freely,  whom  they  beheld  com- 
ing to  meet  them  of  his  own  accord. 

But  as  the  minds  of  men  are  prone  to  superstition,  it 
was  necessary  to  check  this  propensity,  lest  they  should 
associate  with  their  notions  of  God  things  fleshly  and  earth- 


we  have  no  particular  account  in  his  history.  To  this  it  may  be  an- 
swered, that  when  God  called  upon  Samuel  four  times  successively,  at 
the  fourth  time  he  "  came  and  stood,  and  called  as  at  other  times,  Samuel, 
Samuel,"  (verse  10,)  which  seems  parallel  to  those  words  of  God  to 
Moses,  Exod.  xvii.  6,  "  I  will  stand  before  thee  upon  the  rock,"  and 
may,  therefore,  be  presumed  to  mean  that  the  cloud,  the  usual  emblem 
of  the  Divine  presence  under  the  former  dispensation,  came  and  stood 
before  Samuel,  and  that  God  spake  from  it,  though  it  is  evident  that  at 
the  three  preceding  calls  it  did  not  appear.  Again,  when  Samuel's  offer- 
ings and  prayers  were  so  signally  heard  at  Mizpeh,  1  Sam.  vii.,  it  is  said, 
verse  9,  "  The  Lord  answered  him,"  and  verse  10,  "  The  Lord  thun- 
dered with  a  great  thunder ;"  and  as  where  thunder  is,  a  cloud  is  supposed 
to  exist,  this  answering  of  Samuel  with  thunder  may  not  unreasonably 
be  supposed  to  denote  God's  speaking  to  him  at  this  time  also  out  of  the 
cloud. 


78  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIX. 

\y,  and  their  thoughts  should  be  wholly  engrossed  by  the 
outward  forms  of  worship.     The  prophet,  therefore,  in  call- 
ing the  temple  God's  footstool,  desires  the  godly  to  elevate 
their  thoughts  above  it,  for  he  fills  heaven  and  earth  with  his 
infinite  glory.     Nevertheless,  by  these  means  he  reminds  us 
that  true  worship  can  be  paid  to  God  no  where  else  than 
upon  mount  Zion.     For  he  employs  a  style  of  writing  such 
as  is  calculated  to  elevate  the  minds  of  the  godly  above  the 
world,  and,  at  the  same  time,  does  not  in  the  least  degree 
detract  from  the  holiness  of  the  temple,  which  alone  of  all 
places  of  the  earth  God  had  chosen  as  the  place  where  he 
was  to  be  worshipped.     From  this  we  may  see,  since  the 
days  of  Augustine,  how  vainly  many  perplex  themselves  in 
endeavouring  to  ascertain  the  reason  for  the  prophet  order- 
ing God's  footstool  to  be  worshipped.     The  answer  of  Augus- 
tine is  ingenious.     If,  says  he,  we  look  to  Christ's  manhood, 
we  will  perceive  a  reason  why  we  may  worship  the  footstool 
of  God,  and  yet  not  be  guilty  of  idolatry  ;  for  that  body  in 
which  he  wishes  to  be  worshipped  he  took  from  the  earth, 
and  on  this  earth  nothing  else  than  God  is  worshipped,  for 
the  earth  is  both  the  habitation  of  Deity,  and  God  himself 
condescended  to  become  earth.     All  this  is  very  plausible, 
but  it  is  foreign  to  the  design  of  the  prophet,  who,  intending 
to  distinguish  between  legal  worship,  (which  was  the  only 
worship  that  God  sanctioned,)  and  the  superstitious  rites  of 
the  heathen,  summons  the  children  of  Abraham  to  the  tem- 
ple, as  if  to  their  standard,  there,  after  a  spiritual  manner, 
to  worship  God,  because  he  dwells  in  celestial  glory. 

Now  that  the  shadowy  dispensation  has  passed  away,  I 
believe  that  God  cannot  otherwise  be  properly  worshipped, 
than  when  we  come  to  him  directly  through  Christ,  in  whom 
all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  dwells.  It  were  improper  and 
absurd  for  any  one  to  designate  him  a  footstool.  For  the  pro- 
phet merely  spake  in  this  manner  to  show  that  God  was  not 
confined  to  the  visible  temple,  but  that  he  is  to  be  sought  for 
above  all  heavens,*  inasmuch  as  he  is  elevated  above  the 
whole  world. 

1  "  Comme  aussi  il  est  esleve  par  dessus  tout  le  inonde." — Fr. 


PSALM  XCIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  79 

The  frantic  bishops  of  Greece,  in  the  second  Council  of 
Nice,  very  shamefully  perverted  this  passage,  when  they 
endeavoured  to  prove  from  it  that  God  was  to  be  worshipped 
by  images  and  pictures.  The  reason '  assigned  for  exalting 
Jehovah  our  God,  and  worshipping  at  his  footstool,  contains 
an  antithesis  :  he  is  holy.  For  the  prophet,  in  hallowing  the 
name  of  the  one  God,  declares  all  the  idols  of  the  heathen  to 
be  unholy  ;  as  if  he  should  say.  Although  the  heathen  claim 
for  their  idols  an  imaginary  sanctity,  they  are  nevertheless 
very  vanity,  an  offence,  and  abomination.  Some  translate  this 
clause,  ybr  it  is  holy ;  but  it  will  appear  from  the  end  of  the 
psalm  that  it  was  the  design  of  the  prophet  by  this  title  to 
distinguish  God  from  all  idols. 

6.  Moses  and  Aaron.  The  Psalmist  magnifies  the  special 
grace  which  God  in  a  very  remarkable  manner  vouchsafed 
to  the  seed  of  Abraham,  that  thence  he  chose  for  himself 
prophets  and  priests  to  be,  as  it  were,  mediators  between  him 
and  the  people,  to  ratify  the  covenant  of  salvation.  And  he 
mentions  three  persons  who  were  famous  in  former  times. 
For  Moses  was,  as  it  were,  a  mediator  to  reconcile  the  people 
unto  God.  Aaron  was  invested  with  the  same  office;  and, 
subsequently,  Samuel  sustained  the  same  character.  There  is 
no  doubt,  however,  that  under  these  three  persons  he  includ- 
ed all  the  people  with  whom  God  had  made  a  covenant.  But 
he  mentions  the  names  of  those  who  were  the  depositaries  and 
guardians  of  this  invaluable  treasure.  It  may  appear  improper 
that  he  should  speak  of  Moses  as  among  the  priests,  since  his  sons 
were  only  among  the  common  Levites,  and  that  Moses  himself, 
after  the  giving  of  the  law,  never  held  the  office  of  high  priest. 
But  as  the  Hebrews  call  D'^iri'liDj  chohanim,  those  who  are  chief 
and  very  eminent  personages,^  sucb  as  kings'  sons,  there  is 
nothing  to  prevent  the  prophet  from  giving  this  designation 
to  INIoses,  as  if  he  had  said  that  he  was  one  of  the  holy  rulers 
of  the  Church.^    Moreover,  if  we  go  back  to  the  first  original 

1  "  La  cause  qu'il  rend." — Fr.    "  Causae  redditio." — Lat. 
^  "  Ceuxqui  sont les  principaux  etles  plus  excellens personnages." — Fr. 
'  Accordingly,  some  instead  of  priests  read  princes,  or  chief  men. 
jnS)  from  |n3,  to  minister,  is  a  common  title  of  civil  as  well  as  ecclesiasti- 


80  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  XCIX. 

— to  the  period  prior  to  the  publication  of  the  law,  It  Is  cer- 
tain that  Moses  was  then  Invested  with  the  high  priest's  office. 
The  design  of  the  prophet  must  also  be  kept  In  mind,  namely, 
that  God  not  only  adopted  the  seed  of  Abraham,  but  set 
apart  some  of  them  to  act  as  mediators,  whom  he  enjoined 
to  call  upon  his  name,  in  order  that  his  covenant  might  be 
the  more  confirmed.  For  the  invocation  of  which  he  speaks 
must  not  be  understood  Indiscriminately  of  every  manner  of 
calling  upon,  but  only  of  that  which  belongs  to  the  priests, 
who  were  chosen  by  God,  as  intercessors  to  appear  in  his 
presence  in  the  name  of  all  the  people,  and  to  speak  on  their 
behalf. 

They  called  upon  Jehovah.  The  Psalmist  explains  more 
fully  what  I  have  just  now  said,  that  God  from  the  very  first, 
and  with  a  special  reference  to  his  gracious  covenant,  be- 
stowed great  benefits  upon  the  descendants  of  Abraham — 
the  Jews.  And,  therefore,  as  often  as  they  experienced  the 
loving-kindness  of  God,  it  behoved  them  to  call  to  mind  his 
former  loving -kindness.  The  prophet,  too,  makes  particidar 
mention  of  the  visible  symbol  of  the  cloudy  pillar,  by  which 
God  designed  to  testify  in  all  ages  that  his  presence  was  ever 
with  his  people,  according  as  he  employed  temporal  signs,  not 
only  for  their  benefit  to  whom  they  were  exhibited,  but  also 
for  the  benefit  of  those  who  were  to  succeed  them.  Not  that 
God  always  showed  a  cloudy  pillar  to  his  ancient  people,  but 
considering  that  the  dulness  of  men  is  so  great,  that  they  do 
not  perceive  the  presence  of  God  unless  they  are  put  in 
mind  by  external  signs,  the  prophet  very  properly  reminds 


cal  officers.  Hence,  in  Exod.  ii.  16,  for  the  Hebrew  tenn  pa,  the  Chal- 
dee  has  X2"li  "  the  Prince  of  Midian."  And  in  2  Sam.  viii.  18,  it  is  said  of 
David's  sons,  that  they  were  Q>jn3i  which  does  not  there  mean  priests, 
but  princes  or  chief  rulers ; — }''3~i2"),  gy'eat  men,  as  the  Chaldee  has  it,  or 
CJIti^X'in?  ''^principal  or  chief  men  about  the  king,"  as  they  are  termed 
in  1  Chron.  xviii.  17.  Of  this  sort  was  Ira  the  Jairite,  who,  in  2  Sam. 
XX.  26,  is  called  jriDi  which  does  not  there  A.&aoiQ  priest,  but  a  chief  ruler 
about  David.  Thus,  as  in  the  more  general  sense  of  the  word,  it  com- 
prehends civil  as  well  as  ecclesiastical  rulers,  it  is  evident  that  Moses, 
no  less  than  Aaron,  may  be  reckoned  VJnaii  among  Goers  rulers  or  chief 
men;  and,  as  Calvin  states,  it  is  to  be  noticed  that  Moses  was,  properly 
speaking,  the  Priest  of  the  Israelites  before  the  appointment  of  Aaron 
and  his  family  to  the  sacerdotal  office. 


PSALM  XCIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  81 

the  Jews  of  this  memorable  token.  And  as  God  had  ap- 
peared openly  in  the  desert  to  their  fathers,  so  their  posterity- 
might  be  well  assured  that  he  would  also  be  near  to  them, 
lie  adds,  that  they  had  kept  GocTs  testimonies,  for  the  purpose 
of  enforcing  the  duty  of  like  obedience  upon  succeeding  gene- 
rations. 

8.  O  Jehovah  our  God.  The  prophet  here  reminds  them 
that  God  had  heard  their  prayers  because  his  grace  and  their 
piety  harmonised.  Consequently,  encouraged  by  their  exem- 
plary success  in  prayer,  their  posterity  ought  to  call  upon 
God,  not  merely  pronouncing  his  name  with  their  lips,  but 
keeping  his  covenant  with  all  their  heart.  He  farther  re- 
minds us  that  if  God  does  not  display  his  gloiy  so  bountifully, 
and  so  profusely  in  every  age,  the  fault  is  with  men  themselves, 
whose  posterity  have  either  utterly  forsaken,  or  greatly  de- 
clined from  the  faith  of  the  fathers.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  God  should  Avithdraw  his  hand,  or  at  least  not  stretch 
it  forth  in  any  remarkable  way,  when  he  beholds  piety  M'ax- 
ing  cold  on  the  earth. 

O  God,  thou  hast  been  propitious  to  them}    From  these  words 


'  Hammond  translates,  "  O  God,  thou  M^as  propitiated  for  their  salves." 
He  observes,  that  Dn*?,  lahem^  which  Calvin  renders  to  tliem^  is  not  to  be 
understood  barely  in  the  sense  of  the  dative  case,  "thou  wast  propitiated  to 
them,"  or  "  forgavest  them ;"  but  means  for  them,  that  is,  for  their 
sakes:  God  sparing  the  people,  for  or  on  account  of  the  prayers  of  Moses, 
Aaron,  and  Samuel.  God  did  not  destroy  them  when  these  holy  and 
devoted  men  pleaded  with  him  in  their  behalf ;  he  spared  them,  and  drew 
back  the  hand  of  vengeance  in  answ^er  to  prayer.  Such  was  the  effect  of 
Moses'  intercessions.  When  the  people  caused  Aaron  to  make  the  golden 
calf  and  worshipped  it,  God's  anger  was  kindled  against  them.  And 
he  said  to  Moses,  "■  Now  therefore,  let  me  alone,  that  my  wrath  may 
wax  hot,  and  that  I  may  consume  them,  and  I  will  make  of  thee 
a  great  nation."  Had  Moses  let  God  alone,  the  whole  of  that  race 
would  have  been  utterly  consumed.  But  he  pleaded  with  God  in  their 
behalf,  and  "  the  Lord  repented  him  of  the  evil  which  he  thought  to  do 
unto  the  people,"  Exod.  xxii.  10-15.  Nor  was  Aaron  less  prevalent  in 
turning  away  the  anger  of  God  from  the  rebellious  Israelites,  as  is  evident 
from  Num.  xvi.  43-45.  When,  on  the  occasion  of  the  rebellion  and  mur- 
muring of  the  people  at  Moses  and  Aaron  on  account  of  what  befell  Ko- 
rah  and  his  company,  God  said  to  Moses,  "  Get  thee  up  from  among 
this  congregation,  that  I  may  consume  them  as  in  a  moment ;"  Moses 
and  Aaron  "  fell  upon  their  faces,"  and  prayed.  Tlicn  it  follows, 
verse  46,  "  And  Moses  said  unto  Aaron,  Take  a  censer,  and  put  fire 
therein  from  oif  the  altar ;  and  put  on  incense,  and  go  quickly  unto  the 

VOL.  IV.  F 


82  COMMENTAllY  UPON  PSALM  XCIX. 

it  is  quite  obvious  that  what  the  Psahitiist  had  formerly  said 
concerning  Moses,  Aaron,  and  Samuel,  refers  to  the  whole 
people ;  for  surely  they  did  not  officiate  as  priests  merely 
for  their  own  benefit,  but  for  the  common  benefit  of  all  the 
Israelites.  Hence  the  transition  is  more  natural  which 
he  makes  from  these  three  to  the  remaining  body  of  the 
people.  For  I  neither  restrict  the  relatives  to  these  three 
persons,  nor  do  I  interpret  them  exclusively  of  the  same,  but  I 
rather  think  that  the  state  of  the  whole  Church  is  pointed 
out;  namely,  that  while  God,  at  the  prayers  of  the  priests,  was 
propitious  to  the  Jews,  he,  at  the  same  time,  sharply  punished 
them  for  their  sins.  For  on  the  one  hand,  the  prophet  mag- 
nifies the  grace  of  God  in  that  he  had  treated  the  people  so 
kindly,  and  had  so  mercifully  forgiven  their  iniquity ;  on  the 
other  hand,  he  specifies  those  awful  examples  of  punishment 
by  which  he  punished  them  for  their  ingratitude,  that  their 
descendants  might  learn  to  submit  themselves  dutifully  to 
him.  For  it  must  not  be  forgotten,  that  by  how  much  God 
deals  graciously  with  us,  by  so  much  will  he  the  less  easily 
endure  that  we  should  treat  his  liberality  with  scorn. 

In  the  close  of  the  psalm  he  repeats  the  same  sentence 
which  we  had  in  the  fifth  verse,  only  substituting  his  holy 
mountain  instead  of  his  footstool;  and  as  for  the  sake  of 
brevity  he  had  formerly  said  somewhat  obscurely  XIPl  ti^llp, 
kadosh  hu,  he  is  holi/y  he  now  says  more  plainly,  Jehovah 
our  God  is  holy.  His  intention  is  to  show  that  God  is  not  to 
be  worshipped  by  the  Israelites  at  random,  (as  the  religion  of 
the  heathen  depended  upon  fancy  alone,)  but  that  his  worship 
is  founded  upon  the  assurance  of  faith. 

congregation,  and  make  an  atonement  for  them  ;  for  there  is  wrath  gone 
out  from  the  Lord  ;  the  plague  is  begun.  And  Aaron  took  as  Moses  com- 
manded, and  ran  into  the  midst  of  the  congregation ;  and,  behold,  theplague 
was  begun  among  the  people  :  and  he  put  on  incense,  and  made  an  atone- 
ment for  the  people.  And  he  stood  between  the  dead  and  the  living;  and  the 
plague  was  stayed."  Equally  successful  were  the  intercessions  of  Samuel. 
When  the  Israelites  Avere  sore  pressed  by  the  Philistines,  and  afraid  of 
them,  they  "  said  to  Samuel,  Cease  not  to  cry  unto  the  Lord  our  God  for 
us,  that  he  will  save  us  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Philistines."  Samuel  did 
as  they  desired,  and  GodAvas  propitiated  by  his  prayers:  "Samuel  took  a 
sucking  lauib,  and  offered  it  for  a  burnt-offering  wholly  unto  the  Lord  ; 
and  Samuel  cried  unto  the  Lord  for  Israel,  and  the  Lord  answered  him." 
—1  Sam.  vii.  7,  8,  9. 


PSALM  C.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  83 


PSALM  C. 


The  title  of  this  psahn  may  serve  for  a  summary  of  its  contents.  More- 
over, its  brevity  renders  a  lengthened  discourse  unnecessary.  The 
Psalmist,  in  an  especial  manner,  invites  believers  to  praise  God,  be- 
cause he  has  chosen  them  to  be  his  people,  and  has  taken  them  under 
his  care. 

^  A  Psalm  of  Praise. 

1.  Let  all  the  earth  make  a  joyful  noise  to  Jehovah. 

2.  Serve  Jehovah  with  gladness  :  come  into  his  presence  with 

joyfulness. 

3.  Know  ye  that  Jehovah  himself  is  God  :  he  made  us,  and  not 

we  ourselves  :  we  are  his  people,  and  the  sheep  of  his  pas- 
ture. 


1.  Make  a  joyful  noise.  The  Psalmist  refers  only  to  that 
part  of  the  service  of  God  which  consists  in  recounting  his 
benefits  and  giving  thanks.  And  since  he  invites  the  whole 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  indiscriminately  to  praise  Je- 
hovah, he  seems,  in  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  to  refer  to  the 
period  when  the  Church  would  be  gathered  out  of  different 
nations.  Hencehe  commands  (verse  2)  that  God  shouldbeseruec? 
loith  gladness,  intimating  that  his  kindness  towards  his  own 
people  is  so  great  as  to  furnish  them  with  abundant  ground 
for  rejoicing.  This  is  better  expressed  in  the  third  verse,  in 
which  he  first  reprehends  the  presumption  of  those  men  who  had 
wickedly  revolted  from  the  true  God,  both  in  fashioning  for 
themselves  gods  many,  and  in  devising  various  forms  of  wor- 
shipping them.  And  as  a  multitude  of  gods  destroys  and 
suppresses  the  true  knowledge  of  one  God  only,  and  tarnishes 
his  glory,  the  prophet,  with  great  propriety,  calls  upon  all  men 
to  bethink  themselves,  and  to  cease  from  robbing  God  of  the 
honour  due  to  his  name;  and,  at  the  same  time,  inveighs  against 
their  folly  in  that,  not  content  with  the  one  God,  they  were 


84  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  C. 

become  vain  in  their  imaginations.  For,  however  much  they 
are  constrained  to  confess  with  the  mouth  that  there  is  a  God, 
the  maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  yet  they  are  ever  and  anon 
gradually  despoiling  him  of  his  glory ;  and  in  this  manner, 
the  Godhead  is,  to  the  utmost  extent  of  their  power,  reduced 
to  a  nonentity.  As  it  is  then  a  most  difficult  thing  to  retain 
men  in  the  practice  of  the  pure  worship  of  God,  the  prophet, 
not  without  reason,  recalls  the  world  from  its  accustomed 
vanity,  and  commands  them  to  recognise  God  as  God.  For 
we  must  attend  to  this  short  definition  of  the  knowledge  of 
him,  namely,  that  his  glory  be  preserved  unimpaired,  and  that 
no  deity  be  opposed  to  him  that  might  obscure  the 
glory  of  his  name.  True,  indeed,  in  the  Papacy,  God  still 
retains  his  name,  but  as  his  glory  is  not  comprehended  in  the 
mere  letters  of  his  name,  it  is  certain  that  there  he  is  not  re- 
cognised as  God.  Know,  therefore,  that  the  true  worship  of 
God  cannot  be  preserved  in  all  its  integrity  until  the  base 
profanation  of  his  glory,  which  is  the  inseparable  attendant  of 
superstition,  be  completely  reformed. 

The  prophet  next  makes  mention  of  the  great  benefits  re- 
ceived from  God,  and,  in  an  especial  manner,  desires  the  faith- 
ful to  meditate  upon  them.  To  say  God  made  us  is  a  very 
generally  acknowledged  truth ;  but  not  to  advert  to  the  in- 
gratitude so  usual  among  men,  that  scarcely  one  among  a 
hundred  seriously  acknowledges  that  he  holds  his  existence 
from  God,  although,  when  hardly  put  to  it,  they  do  not  deny 
that  they  were  created  out  of  nothing ;  yet  every  man  makes 
a  god  of  himself,  and  virtually  worships  himself,  when  he 
ascribes  to  his  own  power  what  God  declares  belongs  to  him 
alone.  Moreover,  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  pi'ophet  is 
not  here  speaking  of  creation  in  general,  (as  I  have  formerly 
said,)  but  of  that  spiritual  regeneration  by  which  he  creates 
anew  his  image  in  his  elect.  Believers  are  the  persons  whom 
the  prophet  here  declares  to  be  God's  workmanship,  not  that 
they  were  made  men  in  their  mother's  womb,  but  in  that  sense 
in  which  Paul,  in  Eph.  ii.  10,  calls  them,  Th  ToirifMa,  the  work- 
manship of  God,  because  they  are  created  unto  good  works 
which  God  hath  before  ordained  that  they  should  walk  in 
them ;  and  in  reality  this  agrees  best  with  the  subsequent  con- 


PSALM  C.         THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  85 

text.  For  when  he  says,  We  are  his  people,  and  the  sheep  of  his 
pasture,  he  evidently  refers  to  that  distinguishing  grace  which 
led  God  to  set  apart  his  children  for  his  heritage,  in  order  that  he 
may,  as  it  were,  nourish  them  under  his  wings,  which  is  a  much 
greater  privilege  than  that  of  merely  being  born  men.  Should 
any  person  be  disposed  to  boast  that  he  has  of  himself  become 
a  new  man,  who  is  there  that  would  not  hold  in  abhorrence 
such  a  base  attempt  to  rob  God  of  that  which  belongs  to  him? 
Nor  must  we  attribute  this  spiritual  birth  to  our  earthly  ])a- 
rents,  as  if  by  their  own  power  they  begat  us ;  for  what  could  a 
corruptseed  produce?  Still  the  majority  of  men  do  not  hesitate 
to  claim  for  themselves  all  the  praise  of  the  spiritual  life.  Else 
what  mean  the  preachers  of  free-will,  unless  it  be  to  tell  us 
that  by  our  own  endeavours  we  have,  from  being  sons  of 
Adam,  become  the  sons  of  God  ?  In  opposition  to  this,  the 
prophet  in  calling  us  the  people  of  God,  informs  us  that  it  is  of 
his  own  good  will  that  we  are  spiritually  regenerated.  And 
by  denominating  us  the  sheep  of  his  pasture,  he  gives  us  to  know 
that  through  the  same  grace  which  has  once  been  imparted 
to  us,  we  continue  safe  and  unimpaired  until  the  end.  It 
might  be  otherwise  rendered,  he  made  us  his  people,  &c.^  But 
as  the  meaning  is  not  altered,  I  have  retained  that  which  was 
the  more  generally  received  reading. 

4.  Enter  into  his  gates  with  praise,  and  into  his  courts  with  re- 

joicing :  give  glory^  to  him,  and  bless  his  name. 

5.  Because  Jehovah  is  good,  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever,  and  his 

truth  from  generation  to  generation. 

4.  Writer  his  gates.     The  conclusion  of  the  psalm  is  almost 
the  same  as  the  beginning  of  it,  excepting  that  he  adopts  a 

^  The  Hebrew  text  has  a  keri,  which  is  -ijnjX  i^1»  "  and  we  are  his," 

instead  of  !\^m^  xVli  "  and  not  ourselves."    The  Septuagint  supports 

the  latter  reading,  the  ketib,  x,xl  ovx  ii/^ik,  "  and  not  we  ourselves  ;"  in 
which  it  is  followed  by  the  Syriac  and  Vulgate  versions.  Jerome  agrees 
with  the  keri,  Ipse  fecit  nos,  et  ipsius  sumus ;  and  so  does  the  Chaldee. 
"  I  am  persuaded,"  says  Lowth,  in  Merrick's  Annotations,  "  that  the  Ma- 
soretical  correction,  •)'?•),  (and  we  are  his,)  is  right :  the  construction  and 
parallelism  both  favour  it." 
*  "Donnez-luy  gloire." — Fr. 


86  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CI. 

mode  of  speech  which  relates  to  the  worship  of  God  which 
obtained  under  the  law  ;'  in  which,  however,  he  merely  re- 
minds us  that  believers,  in  rendering  thanks  to  God,  do  not 
discharge  their  duty  aright,  unless  they  also  continue  in  the 
practice  of  a  steady  profession  of  piety.  Meanwhile,  under 
the  name  of  the  temple,  he  signifies  that  God  cannot  be  other- 
wise worshipped  than  in  strict  accordance  with  the  manner 
prescribed  in  his  law.  And,  besides,  he  adds,  that  God's  mercy 
endureth  for  ever,  and  that  Ms  truth  also  is  everlasting,  to  point 
out  to  us  that  we  can  never  be  at  a  loss  for  constant  cause  of 
praising  him.  If,  then,  God  never  ceases  to  deal  with  us  in 
this  manner,  it  would  argue  the  basest  ingratitude  on  our  part, 
if  we  wearied  in  rendering  to  Him  the  tribute  of  praise  to 
which  he  is  entitled.  We  have  elsewhere  taken  notice  of  the 
reason  why  truth  is  connected  with  mercy.  For  so  foolish  are 
we,  that  we  scarcely  feel  the  mercy  of  God  while  he  openly 
manifests  it,  not  even  in  the  most  palpable  displays  of  it, 
until  he  open  his  holy  lips  to  declare  his  paternal  regard 
for  us. 


PSALM  CI. 

David  was  not  as  yet  put  in  possession  of  the  kingdom,  but  having  been 
.  already  created  king  by  the  appointment  of  God,  he  prepares  himself 
for  exercising  the  government  in  the  best  manner.  And  he  not  only 
stirs  up  himself  to  perform  faithfully  the  duties  of  his  kingly  office  by 
devoutly  meditating  on  this  subject,  but  also  engages  by  a  solemn  vow 
to  be  God's  faithful  servant,  in  order  to  induce  Him  to  put  him  speedily 
in  possession  of  the  kingdom. 

A  Psalm  of  David. 

1 .   7  will  sing  of  mercy  and  of  judgment  :  unto  thee,  0  Jeho- 
vah !  will  I  sing  psalms. 

'  "Sinon  qu'ilmesle  des  maniers  de  parler,  qui  se  rapportentau  service 
de  Dieu  qui  estoit  sous  la  Loy." — Fr. 


PSALai  CI.  THE  BOOK  OF  TSALMS.  87 

2.  /  will  behave  myself  i)rudently  in  a  perfect  way,  till  thou 

earnest  to  me  ;'   /  xvill  icalk  in  the  integrity  of  my  heart  in 
the  midst  of  my  house. 

3.  /  will  not  set  a  icicked  thing  before  my  eyes  :  I  hate  the  work"^ 

of  those  who  turn  aside  ;  it  shall  not  adhere  to  me. 

4.  The  perverse  heart  shall  depart  from  me  :   I  will  not  know 

evil.^ 

5.  Whoso  slandereth  his  neighbour  in  secret,  him  will  I  destroy  : 

the  man  whose  eyes  are  lofty,  and  ichose  heart  is  icide,  I 
cannot  endure. 

1.  I  will  sing  of  mercy  and  of  judgment.  What  David  here 
says  concerning  singing  must  be  understood  by  the  reader 
as  intimating  that  this  psahii  contains  the  substance  of  his 
meditations  with  himself,  as  to  what  kind  of  king  he 
would  be  whenever  he  should  be  put  in  possession  of  the 
sovereign  power  which  had  been  promised  him.  To  sing 
therefore  of  mercy  and  of  judgment^  is  equivalent  to  declaring 
in  solemn  terms,  that  he  would  be  a  just  and  an  upright  king. 
Augustine  understands  this  as  meaning  that  God  is  to  be 
praised,  whether  he  punish  men  with  severity,  or  whether 
he  show  himself  merciful  to  them  ;  but  this  interpretation  is 
too  refined.  David  does  not  speak  of  God's  secret  jvidg- 
ments,  but  of  the  due  administration  of  the  kingdom,  that  he 
might  both  by  words  and  deeds  fulfil  his  vocation.  When 
he  asserts,  Unto  thee,  O  Jehovah  !  will  I  sing  psalms,  he  ac- 
knowledges that  it  was  by  the  favour  of  God  that  he  was 
appointed  to  so  distinguished  and  honourable  an  office  ;  for 
it  would  have  been  an  act  of  presumptuous  rashness  for  him 
to  have  thrust  himself  into  it,  at  the  mere  impulse  of  his  OAvn 
mind.  He  very  properly  comprehends  all  princely  virtues 
under  these  two  particulars,  mercy  and  judgment ;  for  as  it  is 
the  principal  duty  of  a  king  to  yield  to  every  man  his  own 
right,  so  he  is  also  required  to  possess  a  considerate  love  and 
compassion  towards  his  subjects.     Solomon  therefore  justly 


^  "  Ou,  quand  viendras-tu  &  moy  ?" — Fr.  marg.  "  Or,  when  wilt  thou 
come  to  rae  ?" 

'  "  Tonte  ceuvre."— Fr.  "  All  the  work." 

^  "  Ou,  Ic  mauvais." — Fr.  marg.     "  Or,  the  evil  man." 


88  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CI. 

says,  (Prov.  xvi.  12,)  "  The  throne  is  estabUshed  by  righte- 


ousness." 


2.  I  will  behave  myself  prudently  in  a  perfect  way.  David 
here  shows  that  he  carefully  considered  how  weighty  a  charge 
was  laid  upon  hira  when  he  was  made  king.  We  know,  and 
it  is  a  truth  taught  us  by  experience,  that  almost  all  kings 
are  intoxicated  with  the  splendours  of  royalty  ;  and  the  pro- 
verb was  not  used  without  foundation  in  ancient  times,  "  A 
king  must  be  born  either  a  king  or  a  fool."  It  is  indeed  a 
mistake  to  say  that  kings  are  born  fools.  Men  were  led  to 
speak  in  this  manner,  because  it  commonly  happens  that  those 
who  are  invested  with  the  government  of  kingdoms  and 
empires  are  fools  and  blockheads.  And  surely  it  is  a  re- 
markable instance  of  the  vengeance  of  God,  that  beasts,  and 
such  as  are  altogether  unworthy  to  be  numbered  among  men, 
commonly  possess  the  highest  authority.  But  although  kings 
are  not  born  fools,  yet  they  are  so  blinded  by  their  dignity, 
that  they  think  themselves  in  no  respect  indebted  to  their 
subjects,  become  arrogant  and  haughty  in  their  carriage, 
recklessly  plunge  into  their  pleasures,  and  at  length  utterly 
forget  themselves.  David  therefore  says,  /  icill  behave  my- 
self prudently,  or,  which  amounts  to  the  same  thing,  I  will 
look  warily  to  myself;  it  being  a  rare  virtue  for  the  man 
who  may  do  as  he  pleases  to  exercise  such  moderation,  as  not 
to  allow  himself  liberty  in  any  degree  to  do  evil.  He  then 
who  is  exalted  to  sovereign  power,  and  yet,  instead  of  at- 
tempting to  go  as  far  as  he  can  in  doing  miscliief,  restrains 
himself  by  self-control,  is  endued  with  true  understanding. 
In  short,  David  protests  that  he  will  not  be  like  other  kings 
who  are  infatuated  by  their  own  dignity  ;  but  that  according 
to  the  greatness  of  the  charge  imposed  upon  him,  he  would 
endeavour  wisely  to  perform  his  duty.  It  is  to  be  observed, 
that  he  represents  wisdom  as  consisting  in  a  perfect  way,  or 
in  uprightness.  From  this  we  learn  that  tyrants  who  em- 
ploy their  talents  in  forming  wicked  devices,  and  who  are 
daily  contriving  new  methods  for  burdening  and  oppressing 
their  subjects  ;  in  short,  who  are  ingenious  only  in  doing  mis- 
chief, are  not  wise  towards  God.    Many  persons,  it  is  true,  dis- 


PSALM  CI.         THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  89 

like  such  craftiness  ;  but  still,  it  is  undeniable  that,  if  kings  are 
intent  upon  enlarging  the  boundaries  of  their  kingdom,  and 
are  masters  in  refined  policy  for  accomplishing  such  a  pur- 
pose, this  is  accounted  the  most  perfect  wisdom  which  they 
can  possess,  and  is  extolled  to  the  skies.  David,  on  the  con- 
trary, covets  no  other  wisdom  but  that  which  is  the  mistress 
of  integrity.  Till  thou  comest  to  me.  These  words  may  be 
read  in  two  ways.  Some  translate  them  interrogatively, 
When  wilt  thou  come  ?  as  if  David  besought  God  not  to  sub- 
ject him  to  any  longer  delay.  And  truly  he  had  just  ground  to 
groan  and  lament,  when  he  saw  himself  so  long  oppressed 
with  poverty,  and  driven  from  place  to  place  a  wretched 
exile.  It  had  been  better  for  him  to  have  lived  obscure  and 
unnoticed  in  his  father's  cottage,  following  his  former  occu- 
pation as  a  shepherd,  than  to  be  anointed  king,  that,  being 
driven  out  of  his  country,  he  might  live  in  utter  dishonour 
and  hatred.  But  I  prefer  reading  the  sentence  without  in- 
terrogation, until  or  when  thou  comest ;  and  yet  even  this  I  in- 
terpret somewhat  differently  from  the  majority  of  commenta- 
tors, understanding  it  to  mean,  that  although  David  still  con- 
tinued in  the  condition  of  a  private  person,  and  did  not  enjoy 
the  royal  power  which  had  been  promised  him,  he  neverthe- 
less did  not  cease  in  the  meantime  to  follow  after  upright- 
ness. Thus  he  sets  the  midst  of  his  house  in  opposition  to 
palaces  and  public  buildings ;  as  if  he  had  said,  Within  my 
private  house  or  in  my  family. 

3.  /  will  not  set  a  wicTtcd  thing  before  my  eyes.  After  havinc 
protested,  that  in  leading  a  private  life,  he  would  practise 
virtue  and  righteousness,  even  as  it  becomes  good  princes  to 
begin  with  this,  he  now  adds,  that  in  executing  the  office  of 
prince,  he  will  be  the  enemy  of  all  injustice  and  wickedness. 
To  set  a  wicked  thing  before  ones  eyes,  is  equivalent  to  purpos- 
ing to  do  something  that  is  wicked.  He  therefore  declares, 
that  he  will  turn  away  from  all  wickedness ;  and  it  is  certain, 
that  no  man  can  be  a  just  and  an  impartial  punisher  of  wrong- 
doing, but  he  who  abhors  it  with  all  his  heart.  Whence 
it  follows  that  kings,  in  order  to  the  performance  of  their 
duty,  must  keep  themselves  entirely  free  from  all  consent  to 


90  COMMENTARY  UPON  TSALM  CI. 

wickedness.  Some  join  to  the  first  sentence  the  word  TDl^)^, 
asoh,  which  we  translate  tvork,  and  supply  the  letter  7,  lamed ; 
as  if  it  had  been  said,  I  will  not  set  before  my  eyes  any 
wickedness  to  do  it,  or,  nothing  wicked  will  be  acceptable  to 
me  to  execute  it.  But  the  other  sense  is  more  probable, 
which  is,  that  David,  after  having  declared  that  he  will  not 
suffer  any  iniquity  before  his  eyes,  immediately  adds  for  the 
sake  of  confirmation,  that  he  will  be  an  enemy  to  all  injustice. 
If  the  last  clause  is  referred  to  the  persons  who  turn  aside, 
there  is  a  change  of  the  number.  It  may,  however,  be  ex- 
plained of  the  work  itself,  implying  that  he  would  never  have 
any  share  in  wicked  defections  from  the  path  of  rectitude. 

4.  The  perverse  heart  shall  depart  from  vie.  Some  by  per- 
verse heart  understand  perfidious  men ;  but  this  I  reject  as  a 
sense  too  forced,  and  it  is  moreover  inconsistent  with  the 
context.  As  David  has  added  in  the  second  clause  by  way 
of  exposition,  /  nill  not  know  evil,  he  doubtless  in  the  first 
protests  that  he  will  be  free  from  all  perfidiousness  and  wick- 
edness. The  amount  is,  that  he  will  do  his  endeavour  to 
keep  himself  from  all  wrong-doing,  and  that  he  will  not  even 
know  what  it  is  to  do  wrong  to  his  neighbours. 

5.  Whoso  slandereth  his  neighbour^  in  secret,  him  will  I  de- 
stroy. In  this  verse  he  speaks  more  distinctly  of  the  duty  of 
a  king  who  is  armed  with  the  sword,  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
straining evil-doers.  Detraction,  pride,  and  vices  of  every 
description,  are  justly  offensive  to  all  good  men ;  but  all 
men  have  not  the  power  or  right  to  cut  off  the  proud  or 
detractors,   because  they  are  not  invested  with  public  au- 

^  The  reading  of  the  Chaldee  is  striking,  "  He  -who  speaks  with  a 
iriple  tongue,'"  "  i.e.''  says  Bythner,  "  an  informer.,  calumniator,  detractor, 
who  injures  three  souls,  his  own,  his  hearers,  and  the  calumniated ;  he 
inflicts  a  deep  wound  on  his  own  conscience,  puts  a  lie  into  the  mouth  of 
his  hearer,  and  injures  the  subject  of  his  slander ;  according  to  Avhich, 
Herodotus  has  said,  Atoc(io'h'/j  Ian  "^avorxrov  iv  rij  'hvo  ft,iv  ehiv  oi  cihtx.iou- 
T£f,  elg  li  6  cchiKiofcivoi.  '  Calumny  is  most  iniquitous,  in  which  there  are 
two  injurhig  and  one  injured.' "  The  word  '>JL^'') /Di  meloshni,  rendered  slan- 
dereth, is  from  the  noun  pt'^,  laslion,  the  tongue.  In  Ps.  cxl.  12,  it  is  said, 
"  Let  not  |iE>;^  Qf^i^,  ish  lashon,  a  man  of  tongue,  {i.e.,  a  slanderer,)  be  es- 
tablished in  the  earth." 


PSALJI  CI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  91 

thority,  and  consequently  have  their  hands  hound.  It  is  of 
importance  to  attend  to  this  distinction,  that  the  children  of 
God  may  keep  themselves  within  the  bounds  of  moderation, 
and  that  none  may  pass  beyond  the  province  of  his  own  call- 
ing. It  is  certain,  that  so  long  as  David  lived  merely  in  the 
rank  of  a  private  member  of  society,  he  never  dared  to  at- 
tempt any  such  thing.  But  after  being  placed  on  the  royal 
throne,  he  received  a  sword  from  the  hand  of  God,  which  he 
employed  in  punishing  evil  deeds.  He  particularises  certain 
kinds  of  wickedness,  that  under  one  species,  by  the  figure 
synecdoche,  he  might  intimate  his  determination  to  punish 
all  sorts  of  wickedness.  To  detract  from  the  reputation  of 
another  privily,  and  by  stealth,  is  a  plague  exceedingly  de- 
structive. It  is  as  if  a  man  killed  a  fellow-creature  from  a 
place  of  ambush ;  or  rather  a  calumniator,  like  one  who  ad- 
ministers poison  to  his  unsuspecting  victim,  destroys  men  un- 
awares. It  is  a  sign  of  a  perverse  and  treacherous  disposition 
to  wound  the  good  name  of  another,  when  he  has  no  oppor- 
tunity of  defending  himself.  This  vice,  which  is  too  preva- 
lent every  where,  while  yet  it  ought  not  to  be  tolerated 
among  men,  David  undertakes  to  punish. 

He  next  characterises  the  proud  by  two  forms  of  expres- 
sion. He  describes  them  as  those  whose  eyes  are  lofty,  not 
that  all  who  are  proud  look  with  a  lofty  countenance,  but  be- 
cause they  commonly  betray  the  superciliousness  of  their 
proud  hearts  by  the  loftiness  of  their  countenance.  He 
farther  describes  them  as  wide^  of  heart,  because  those 
who  aspire  after  great  things  must  necessarily  be  puffed  up 
and  swollen.  They  are  never  satisfied  unless  they  swallow 
up  the  whole  world.  From  this  we  learn  that  good  order 
cannot  exist,  unless  princes  are  sedulously  on  the  watch  to 

^  The  Hebrew  noun  3n"li  rechab,  for  wide  or  large,  is  derived  from 
3n"l»  rachab,  dilatus  est.  "  Applied  to  the  heart  or  soul,  it  denotes 
largeness  of  desires. — So  Prov.  xxviii.  25,  '  He  that  is  e^»qj  ^mi  large 
in  soul ;'  where  the  LXX.  fitly  render  ^n"),  by  uTrMaros,  '  insatiable,' 
applying  it  either  to  wealth  or  honour,  the  insatiable  desire  of  either  oi 
which  (as  there  follows)  '  stirs  up  strife.'  And  so  here  they  have  ren- 
dered it  again  awA^erT^j  Kx^licf.,  '  he  that  cannot  be  filled  in  the  heart,'  i.e., 
the  covetous  or  ambitious  man.  The  Syriac  reads,  wide  or  broad;  so  the 
Jewish  Arab,  '  Him  that  is  high  of  eyes,  and  wide  of  heart,  I  can  have 
no  patience  with  those  two.'" — Hammond. 


92  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CI. 

repress  pride,  which  necessarily  draws  after  it  and  engenders 
outrage  and  cruelty,  contemptuous  language,  rapine,  and  all 
kinds  of  ill  treatment.  Thus  it  would  come  to  pass,  that  the 
simple  and  the  peaceable  would  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  more 
powerful,  did  not  the  authority  of  princes  interfere  to  curb 
the  audacity  of  the  latter.  As  it  is  the  will  of  God  that 
good  and  faithful  kings  should  hold  pride  in  detestation,  this 
vice  is  unquestionably  the  object  of  his  own  hatred.  What 
he  therefore  requires  from  his  children  is  gentleness  and 
meekness,  for  he  is  the  declared  enemy  of  all  who  strive  to 
elevate  themselves  above  their  condition. 

6.  My  eyes  are  towards  the  faithful  of  the  land,  that  they  may 

dwell  with  me  :  he  who  walketh  in  an  upright  way  shall 
minister  to  me. 

7.  He  who  worketh  [or  practiseth]  deceit  shall  not  dwell  in  the 

midst  of  my  house  :  he  who  sjpeaketh  falsehoods  shall  not 
abide  in  my  sight. 

8.  Early^  will  I  destroy  all  the  wicked  of  the  land  ;  that  I  may 

cut  off  all  the  workers  of  iniquity  from  the  city  of  Jehovah. 

6.  Ml/  eyes  are  towards  the  faithful  of  the  land.  David  here 
lays  down  another  virtue  of  a  wise  prince,  when  he  affirms 
that  it  Avill  be  his  care  to  make  all  the  faithful  of  the  land  his 
intimate  friends, — that  he  will  avail  himself  of  their  good 
offices,  and  have  as  domestic  servants  such  only  as  are  dis- 
tinguished for  personal  worth.  Some  understand  the  words, 
that  they  may  dwell  with  me,  in  a  general  sense  thus  :  I  will  not 
neglect  the  good  and  inoffensive,  nor  will  I  suffer  them  to  be 
unjustly  molested  ;  but  1  will  secure,  that  under  my  adminis- 
tration, they  shall  live  in  a  state  of  peace  and  tranquillity. 


1  "  Heb.  aux  matins."  "  Heb.  at  the  mornings." — Fr.  marg.  Courts 
of  judicature  for  the  execution  of  public  justice  were  wont  to  be  held  in  the 
morning  in  ancient  times,  as  they  are  still  with  us,  or  at  least  began  then, 
and  continued  till  the  evening.  Hugo  Grotius  and  others  think  there 
is  here  an  allusion  to  these  courts.  "  To  this,"  says  Hammond,  "  most 
probably  D''"1p2'?  i"  the  plural,  in  the  mornings^  here  refers,  the  season 
wherein  David,  as  a  judge  entering  the  tribunal,  destroys  and  cuts  off 
the  wicked  doers.  The  former  part  of  the  psalm  contains  his  resolution 
for  choice  of  counsellors  and  officers  of  state,  preferring  the  plain,  honest, 
and  not  the  subtlest  contrivers;  and  this  last  for  the  execution  of  jus- 
tice, discountenancing  and  judicially  cutting  off  all  wicked  men.'''' 


PSALM  CI.         THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  93 

But  his  meaning  rather  is,  that  he  will  exercise  discretion  and 
care,  that,  instead  of  taking  persons  into  his  service  indiscri- 
minately, he  may  wisely  determine  each  man's  character,  so  as 
to  have  those  who  live  a  life  of  strict  integrity  as  his  most  inti- 
mate friends,  and  that  he  may  intrust  them  with  the  offices 
of  state.  He  speaks  of  the  faithful  in  the  first  place,  because, 
although  a  man  may  possess  talents  of  a  high  order,  yet  if  he 
is  not  devoted  to  fidelity  and  integrity,  he  will  never  rightly 
execute  the  office  of  a  judge.  This  is  worthy  of  special 
notice ;  for  although  a  prince  may  be  the  best  of  men,  yet  if 
his  servants  and  officers  are  not  of  a  corresponding  character, 
his  subjects  will  experience  hardly  any  advantage  from  his 
uncorrupted  integrity.  Servants  are  the  hands  of  a  prince, 
and  whatever  he  determines  for  the  good  of  his  subjects  they 
will  wickedly  overthrow  it,  provided  they  are  avaricious, 
fraudulent,  or  rapacious.  This  has  been  more  than  suffi- 
ciently demonstrated  by  experience.  The  greater  part  of 
kings,  indeed,  passing  over  the  good  and  the  upright,  or,  which 
is  worse,  driving  them  away  from  them,  purposely  seek  to 
have  as  servants  those  who  are  like  themselves,  and  who  may 
prove  fit  tools  for  their  tyranny ;  yea,  even  good  and  well  dis- 
posed princes  often  manifest  so  much  indolence  and  irreso- 
lution as  to  suffer  themselves  to  be  governed  by  the  worst 
counsels,  and  inconsiderately  prostitute  the  offices  of  state 
by  conferring  them  on  the  unworthy. 

7.  He  who  worketh  deceit  shall  not  dwell  in  the  midst  of  my 
house.  This  verse  may  be  explained  of  all  magistrates  to 
whose  charge  the  exercise  of  public  judgments  is  committed, 
as  well  as  of  household  servants.  But  as  David  has  just  now 
spoken  in  general  of  all  officers,  he  seems  now  to  speak  pro- 
perly of  those  who  are  near  the  person  of  the  king.  When 
the  chief  counsellors  of  kings  and  other  intimate  acquaintances 
who  have  gained  possession  of  their  ears,  are  deceitful  and 
crafty,  this  becomes  the  source  of  all  corruptions ;  for  by  their 
example  they  encourage  others  in  evil,  lifting  up  as  it  were 
the  banner  of  licentiousness.  And  it  is  impossible  that  he 
who  does  not  maintain  good  order  in  his  own  house,  can  be 
a  fit  person  for  holding  the  government  of  a  whole  realm. 


94  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CI. 

The  authority  which  cannot  preserve  its  influence  under  the 
domestic  roof  is  of  little  worth  in  state  affairs. 

8.  Early  ivill  I  destroy  all  the  wicked  of  the  land.  The 
Psalmist  at  length  concludes  by  asserting,  that  he  will  endea- 
vour to  the  utmost  of  his  power  to  purge  the  land  from  in- 
famous and  wicked  persons.  He  affirms  that  he  will  do  this 
early ;  for  if  princes  are  supine  and  slothful,  they  will  never 
seasonably  remedy  the  evils  which  exist.  They  must  there- 
fore oppose  the  beginnings  of  evil.  The  judge,  however,  must 
take  care  not  to  yield  to  the  influence  of  anger,  nor  must  he 
act  precipitately  and  without  consideration.  The  original 
word  for  early  is  in  the  plural  number,  (it  being  properly  at 
the  morninys,)  which  denotes  unremitted  exertion.  It  were 
not  enough  that  a  judge  should  punish  the  wicked  sharply 
and  severely  in  one  or  two  instances  :  he  must  continue  per- 
severingly  in  that  duty.  By  this  word  is  condemned  the 
slothfulness  of  princes,  when,  upon  seeing  wicked  men  dar- 
ingly break  forth  into  the  commission  of  crime,  they  connive 
at  them  from  day  to  day,  either  through  fear  or  an  ill-regulated 
lenity.  Let  kings  and  magistrates  then  remember,  that  they 
are  armed  with  the  sword,  that  they  may  promptly  and  un- 
flinchingly execute  the  judgments  of  God.  David,  it  is  true, 
could  not  purge  the  land  from  all  defilements,  however  cour- 
ageously he  might  have  applied  himself  to  the  task.  This  he 
did  not  expect  to  be  able  to  do.  He  only  promises,  that 
without  respect  of  persons  he  will  show  himself  an  impartial 
judge,  in  cutting  off  all  the  wicked.  Timidity  often s  hinders 
judges  from  repressing  with  sufficient  vigour  the  wicked  when 
they  exalt  themselves.  It  is  consequently  necessary  for  them 
to  be  endued  with  a  spirit  of  invincible  fortitude,  that  relying 
upon  Divine  aid,  they  may  perform  the  duties  of  the  office 
with  which  they  are  invested.  Moreover,  ambition  and  fa- 
vour sometimes  render  them  pliant,  so  that  they  do  not  al- 
ways punish  offences  alike,  where  this  ought  to  be  done. 
Hence  we  learn  that  the  strictness,  which  is  not  carried  to 
excess,  is  highly  pleasing  to  God ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
that  he  does  not  approve  of  the  cruel  kindness  which  gives 
loose  reins  to  the  wicked ;  as,  indeed,  there  cannot  be  a  greater 


PSALM  CII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  95 

encouragement  to  sin  than  for  offences  to  be  allowed  to  pass 
unpunished.  What  Solomon  says  should  therefore  be  remem- 
bered, (Prov.  xvii.  15,)  "  He  that  justifieth  the  wicked,  and 
he  that  condemneth  the  just,  even  they  both  are  abomination 
to  the  Lord."  What  David  adds,  That  I  may  cut  off  all 
the  workers  of  iniquity  from  the  city  of  God,  is  also  emphatic. 
If  even  heathen  kings  are  commanded  in  common  to  punish 
crimes,  David  well  knew  that  he  w^as  under  obligations  of  a 
more  sacred  kind  to  do  so,  since  the  charge  of  the  Church  of 
God  had  been  committed  to  him.  And  certainly  if  those 
who  hold  a  situation  so  honourable  do  not  exert  themselves 
to  the  utmost  of  their  power  to  remove  all  defilements,  they 
are  chargeable  with  polluting  as  much  as  in  them  lies  the 
sanctuary  of  God  ;  and  they  not  only  act  unfaithfully  to- 
wards men  by  betraying  their  welfare,  but  also  commit  high 
treason  asjainst  God  himself.  Now  as  the  kingdom  of  David 
was  only  a  faint  image  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  we  ought 
to  set  Christ  before  our  view ;  who,  although  he  may  bear 
with  many  hypocrites,  yet  as  he  will  be  the  judge  of  the 
world,  will  at  length  call  them  all  to  an  account,  and  separate 
the  sheep  from  the  goats.  And  if  it  seems  to  us  that  he 
tarries  too  long,  we  should  think  of  that  morning  which  will 
suddenly  dawn,  that  all  filthiness  being  purged  away,  true 
purity  may  shine  forth. 


PSALM  CII. 

This  prayer  seems  to  have  been  dictated  to  the  faithful  when  they  were 
languishing  in  captivity  in  Babylon.  Sorrowful  and  humbled,  they 
first  bewail  their  afflictions.  In  the  next  place,  they  plead  with 
God  for  the  I'estoration  of  the  holy  city  and  temple.  To  encourage 
themselves  to  come  before  him  in  prayer  with  the  greater  confidence, 
they  call  to  remembrance  the  Divine  promises  in  reference  to  the  happy 
renovation  both  of  the  kingdom  and  of  the  priesthood ;  and  they  not 
only  assure  themselves  of  deliverance  from  captivity,  but  also  beseech 
God  to  bring  kings  and  nations  in  subjection  to  himself.     In  the  close 


K. 


96  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CII. 

of  the  psalm,  after  having  interposed  a  brief  complaint  concerning  their 
distressing  and  afflicted  condition,  they  draw  consolation  from  the  eter- 
nity of  God  ;  for,  in  adopting  his  servants  to  a  better  hope,  he  has  se- 
parated them  from  the  common  lot  of  men. 

%  A  prayer  for  the  afflicted,  when  he  shall  be  shut  up,  and  shall  pour  out 
his  meditation  befoi'e  Jehovah. 
Whoever  of  the  prophets  composed  this  psalm,  it  is  certain  that  he  dic- 
tated it  to  the  faithful  as  a  form  of  prayer  for  the  re-establishment  of  the 
temple  and  the  city.  Some  limit  it  to  the  time  when,  after  the  return  of 
the  Jews  from  Babylon,  the  building  of  the  temple  was  hindered  by  the 
neighbouring  nations  ;  but  with  this  I  cannot  agree.  I  am  rather  of  opi- 
nion that  the  poem  was  written  before  the  return  of  the  people,  when  the 
time  of  their  promised  deliverance  was  just  at  hand  ;  for  then  the  pro- 
phets began  to  be  more  earnest  in  lifting  up  the  hearts  of  the  godly  ac- 
cording to  these  words  of  Isaiah,  (ch.  xl.  1,)  "  Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye 
my  people,  saith  your  God."^  The  design  of  the  sacred  poet  was,  not 
only  to  inspire  the  people  with  courage,  but  also  to  excite  in  them  greater 
care  about  the  welfare  of  the  Church.  The  title  of  the  psalm  indicates 
the  end  and  pui-pose  which  it  was  intended  to  serve.  Those  who  trans- 
late the  verbs  in  the  past  tense,  A  prayer  for  the  afflicted^  lohen  he  was 
in  distress,  and  poured  out  his  meditation,^  seem  to  give  an  incorrect  view 
of  the  mind  of  the  prophet.  He  rather  intended  to  relieve  the  sorrow  of 
those  whose  hearts  he  saw  depressed ;  as  if  he  had  said,  Although  you 
may  be  afflicted  with  anguish  and  despair,  you  must  not  on  that  account 
desist  from  prayer.  Some  translate  the  verb  fjtjy,  ataph,  when  he  shall 
hide  himself,  and  conceive  that  this  is  a  metaphorical  expression  of  the 
gesture  of  a  man  engaged  in  prayer,  when,  on  account  of  his  gi'ief,  unable 
to  lift  up  his  face,  he,  as  it  were,  hides  himself,  and  keeps  his  head 
wrapped  up  in  his  bosom.  But  there  appears  to  me  to  be  an  elegant  play 
upon  the  words,  when  the  distresses  of  the  mind,  and  its  being  shut  up, 
are  spoken  of,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  pouring  out  of  prayers  on  the 

^  "  This  plaintive  poem  was  written  by  some  pious  exile  towards  the  ex- 
piration of  the  seventy  years  of  captivity  during  which  the  people  of  Is- 
rael were  detained  in  Babylon The  author  of  the  psalm  had 

most  probably  been  can-ied  away  captive  in  early  youth.  He  had  sur- 
vived nearly  to  the  end  of  the  term,  and  now,  worn  with  cares  and 
anxieties,  he  was  earnest  with  God  that  deliverance  might  speedily  ar- 
rive, lest  he  should  sink  into  the  grave  without  revisiting  the  delightful 
scenes  by  which  his  imagination  was  enraptured,  without  witnessing  the 
fulfilment  of  the  hopes  which  the  prophets  of  God  had  excited  by  the 
predictions  which  they  had  delivered  relative  to  the  returning  prosperity 
of  his  beloved  country." — Walford.  Hammond  thinks  that  the  psalm  was 
written  by  Nehemiah,  after  the  return  of  Ezra  with  commission  for  re- 
building the  temple.  See  Neh.  i.  3,  &c.  Others  ascribe  it  to  Jeremiah 
or  Daniel. 

2  "  Sa  plainte."— Fr.    »'  His  complaint." 


PSALM  Cir.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  97 

Other;  teaching  us  that,  when  we  are  so  shut  up  by  grief  as  to  shun  the  light 
and  presence  of  men,  the  gate  is  so  far  from  being  shut  against  our  pray- 
ers, that  then  in  truth  is  the  most  proper  season  for  engaging  in  prayer, 
for  it  is  a  singular  alleviation  of  our  son-ows  when  we  have  opportunity 
freely  to  pour  out  our  hearts  before  God.  The  verb  nitJ'j  suach,  often 
denotes  to  pray ;  but,  as  it  also  signifies  to  meditate,  the  noun  derived 
from  it  properly  means,  in  this  place,  meditation.  It  is,  moreover,  to  be 
observed  that,  by  these  words,  the  Psalmist  admonishes  the  Israelites  as 
to  the  frame  of  mind  with  which  it  became  them  to  use  this  form  of 
prayer  at  the  throne  of  grace ;  as  if  he  had  said,  that  he  prescribed  it  to 
those  only  who  were  distressed  on  account  of  the  desolate  condition  of 
the  Church. 

1 .  0  Jehovah  !  hear  my  prayer,  and  let  my  cry  come  to  thee. 

2.  Hide  not  thy  face  from  me  in  the  day  of  my  affliction  ;  in- 

cline thy  ear  to  me  :  iii  the  day  when  I  cry  make  haste, 
answer  me. 

1.  O  Jehovah.  1  hear  my  prayer.  This  earnestness  shows, 
again,  that  these  words  were  not  dictated  to  be  pronounced 
by  the  careless  and  light-hearted,  which  could  not  have  been 
done  without  grossly  insulting  God.  In  speaking  thus,  the 
captive  Jews  bear  testimony  to  the  severe  and  excruciating 
distress  Avhich  they  endured,  and  to  the  ardent  desire  to 
obtain  some  alleviation  with  which  they  were  inflamed.  No 
person  could  utter  these  words  with  the  mouth  without  pro- 
faning the  name  of  God,  unless  he  were,  at  the  same  time, 
actuated  by  a  sincere  and  earnest  affection  of  heart.  We 
ought  particularly  to  attend  to  the  circumstance  already 
adverted  to,  that  we  are  thus  stirred  up  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  the  duty  of  prayer  in  behalf  of  the  common  welfare 
of  the  Church.  Whilst  each  man  takes  sufficient  care  of 
his  own  individual  interests,  there  is  scarcely  one  in  a 
hundred  affected  as  he  ought  to  be  with  the  calamities 
of  the  Church.  We  have,  therefore,  the  more  need  of 
incitements,  even  as  we  see  the  prophet  here  endeavouring, 
by  an  accumulation  of  words,  to  correct  our  coldness  and 
sloth.  I  admit  that  the  heart  ouo-ht  to  move  and  direct  the 
tongue  to  prayer ;  but,  as  it  often  flags  or  performs  its  duty 
in  a  slow  and  sluggish  manner,  it  requires  to  be  aided  by  the 

tongue.     There  is  here  a  reciprocal  influence.     As  the  heart, 
VOL.  IV.  a 


98  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  ClI. 

on  tlie  one  hand,  ought  to  go  before  the  words,  and  frame 
them,  so  the  tongue,  on  the  other,  aids  and  remedies  the 
coldness  and  torpor  of  the  heart.  True  believers  may 
indeed  often  pray  ijot  only  earnestly  but  also  fervently,  while 
yet  not  a  single  word  proceeds  from  the  mouth.  There  is, 
however,  no  doubt  that  by  crying  the  prophet  means  the  ve- 
hemence into  which  grief  constrains  us  to  break  forth. 

2.  Hide  not  thy  face  from  me  in  the  day  of  my  affliction.  The 
prayer,  that  God  would  not  hide  his  face,  is  far  from  being  su- 
perfluous. As  the  people  had  been  languishing  in  captivity  for 
the  space  of  nearly  seventy  years,  it  might  seem  that  God 
had  for  ever  turned  away  his  favour  from  them.  But  they 
are,  notwithstanding,  commanded,  in  their  extreme  affliction, 
to  have  recourse  to  prayer  as  their  only  remedy.  They  af- 
firm that  they  cry  in  the  day  of  their  affliction,  not  as  hypo- 
crites are  accustomed  to  do,  who  utter  their  complaints  in  a 
tumultuous  manner,  but  because  they  feel  that  they  are  then 
called  upon  by  God  to  cry  to  him. 

Make  haste,  answer  me.  Having  elsewhere  spoken  more 
fully  of  these  forms  of  expression,  it  may  suffice,  at  present, 
briefly  to  observe,  that  when  God  permits  us  to  lay  open  be- 
fore him  our  infirmities  without  reserve,  and  patiently  bears 
with  our  foolishness,  he  deals  in  a  way  of  great  tenderness 
towards  us.  To  pour  out  our  complaints  before  him  after  the 
manner  of  little  children  would  certainly  be  to  treat  his  Ma- 
jesty with  very  little  reverence,  were  it  not  that  he  has  been 
pleased  to  allow  us  such  freedom.  I  purposely  make  use  of 
this  illustration,  that  the  weak,  who  are  afraid  to  draw  near 
to  God,  may  understand  that  they  are  invited  to  him  with 
such  gentleness  as  that  nothing  may  hinder  them  from  fami- 
liarly and  confidently  approaching  him. 

3.  For  my  days  are  consigned  like  smoke,  ^  and  my  bones  are 
burnt  up  as  a  hearth.'^ 

I  Hammond  reads,  "  My  days  are  consumed  in  the  smoke."  "  The 
Syriac,"  says  he,  "  read,  in  smoke,  and  so  the  sense  will  best  bear,  either 
■//»v  dai/s  or  thne  of  my  life,  1^3,  consume  and  wither  in  smoke,  as  Psalm 
cxix.  83,  a  bottle  in  the  smoke,  afflictions  have  had  the  same  effect  on  me 


PSALM  Cir.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  99 

4.  My  heart  is  smitten  and  ivithered  like  grass,  because  I  have 

forgotten  to  eat  my  bread. 

5.  By  reason  of  the  voice  of  my  groaning,  my  hones  cleave  to 

myfesh.^ 

6.  I  have  become  like  a  pelican^  of  the  wilderness  ;  I  have  be- 

come like  an  oiol^  of  the  deserts. 

as  smoke  on  those  things  which  are  hung  in  it,  dried  me  np,  and  de- 
formed me:  or  perhaps  1^3,  end  or  fail,  or  consume  in  smoke,  (as  when 
any  combustible  matter  is  consumed,  smoke  is  all  that  comes  from  it, 
and  so  it  ends  in  that ;)  and  to  that  the  latter  part  of  the  verse  may  seem 
to  incline  it,  '  And  my  bones,  or  members,  or  body,  are  burnt  up,'  that 
being  all  one  with  consumed." 

2  Hammond  reads,  "  are  burnt  up  as  dry  wood."  "  As  for  "ipiDS,  that 
is  added,"  says  he,  "  the  interpreters  differ  in  the  understanding  of  it. 
The  word  coming  from  ips  accensus  est,  may  be  either  the  place  where 
the  fire  is,  or  the  pot  which  is  heated  by  the  flame  of  the  fire,  or  the  wood 
Avhich  is  set  on  fire.  The  Syriac  seems  to  take  it  in  the  first  notion,  ren- 
dering it,  '  my  bones  are  grown  white  as  the  hearth,'  for  so  the  chimney 
or  hearth  doth  with  the  fire  constantly  burning  on  it.  The  Chaldee  reads, 
'  as  one  of  the  stones  that  is  set  under  the  pot  or  caldron.'  But  the  LXX. 
read,  uas!  (p^vyiov,  '  as  dry  wood,'  and  the  Latin,  sicut  cremium,  '  as  dry 
combustible  wood,'  and  that  is  most  applicable  to  the  matter  in  hand ;  the 
bones  or  members  of  the  body,  their  being  burnt  up  as  dry  wood  denotes 
the  speedy  exhausting  of  the  radical  moisture,  which  soon  ends  in  the 
consumption  of  the  whole.  And  then  the  whole  verse  fitly  accords,  '  My 
days  are  withered  away  in  the  smoke,'  or  perhaps  '  end  in  smoke,  my 
bones  are  burnt  up  like  dry  wood."'  " 

'  "  Tienent  a  ma  peau." — Fr.  "  Cleave  to  my  skin."  Flesh  is 
more  literal ;  but  see  Ps.  cxix.  120,  and  Job  xix.  20. 

2  The  pelican  is  a  bird  of  the  desert,  to  which  frequent  allusion  is  made 
by  the  sacred  writers.  Its  Hebrew  name  r\i<pi  ^acith,  literally  means, 
the  vomiter,  being  derived  from  the  verb  ^^p,  ho,  to  vomit.  It  has  a  large 
pouch,  or  bag,  suspended  from  its  bill  and  throat,  which  serves  both  as  a 
repository  for  its  food,  and  as  a  net  for  catching  it.  In  feeding  its  young 
ones,  whether  this  bag  is  loaded  with  water,  or  more  solid  food,  it 
squeezes  the  contents  of  it  into  their  mouths,  by  strongly  compressing  it 
upon  its  breast  with  its  bill,  an  action  which  might  well  explain  the  ori- 
gin of  the  name  given  to  it  by  the  Hebrews.  It  is  a  bird  of  solitary 
habits,  and  is  said  by  Isidore  to  live  "  in  the  solitude  of  the  river  Nile  :" 
indeed,  it  generally  builds  its  nest  in  mossy,  turfy  places,  in  the  islands  of 
rivers  or  lakes,  far  from  the  abode  of  man.  It  is  here  described  as  living 
in  the  wilderness,  a  circumstance  not  inconsistent  with  its  natural  fond- 
ness for  water ;  for  lakes,  as  well  as  fountains,  are  to  be  found  in  the 
most  desert  parts.  And  although  a  water-fowl,  it  sometimes  retires  to  a 
great  distance  from  the  water,  where,  in  some  remote  and  concealed  situ- 
ation, it  may  hatch  its  young  with  greater  security.  Its  huge  pouch,  which 
is  said  to  be  capable  of  containing  near  the  size  of  a  man's  head,  seems 
to  be  given  to  it  for  the  purpose  of  its  being  provided  with  a  supply  of 
food  for  itself  and  its  young  ones  when  at  a  distance  from  the  water. 
Bochart  thinks  that  riKp,  kaiith,  here  means  the  bittern.  His  chief  rea- 
son for  this  opinion  is,  that  the  Psalmist  compares  himself  to  the  two 
birds  specified,  on  account  of  his  groaning,  and  that,  therefore,  both  of 
them  should  have  a  mournful  cry.     But  ho  finds  that  natural  historians 


100  COMMENTARY  UPON  TSALM  CII. 

7.  /  have  vmtched,  and  have  been  like  a  sparrow  which  is  alone 
upon  the  house-top.^ 

3.  I^or  my  days  are  consumed  like  smoke.  These  expressions 
are  hyperbolical,  but  still  they  show  how  deeply  the  desola- 
tion of  the  Church  ought  to  wound  the  hearts  of  the  people 
of  God.  Let  every  man,  therefore,  carefully  examine  himself 
on  this  head.  If  we  do  not  prefer  the  Church  to  all  the  other 
objects  of  our  solicitude,  we  are  unworthy  of  being  accounted 
among  her  members.  Whenever  we  meet  with  such  forms  of 
expression  as  these,  let  us  remember  that  they  reproach  our 

make  no  mention  of  this  as  a  property  of  the  pelican,  whereas  they  all 
agree  that  the  bittern,  by  inserting  its  bill  in  the  mud  of  the  marsh,  or 
plunging  it  under  water,  utters  a  most  disagreeable  cry,  like  the  roaring 
of  a  bull,  or  the  sound  of  distant  thunder.  But  the  Psalmist  may  not  so 
much  compare  his  groaning  to  the  plaintive  cry  of  these  birds,  as  compare 
his  situation  to  their  solitary  condition.  Sorrow,  when  pungent,  drives 
the  suflferer  to  solitude,  and,  on  this  occasion,  the  inspired  bard,  under 
the  overwhelming  pressure  of  gi'ief,  seems  to  have  become  weary  of  so- 
ciety, and,  like  the  pelican,  or  the  owl,  to  have  contracted  a  relish  for 
deep  retirement.  Shaw's  Travels,  vol.  ii.  p.  302  ;  Paxton's  Illustrations 
of  Scripture,  vol.  ii.  pp.  247-260. 

^  The  owl,  it  is  highly  probable,  is  the  bird  here  intended.  The  original 
word  D13,  kos,  which  is  evidently  derived  from  the  verb  nOD?  kasali,  to 
hide,  is  applied,  with  much  propriety,  to  denote  that  bird,  which  constantly 
hides  itself  in  the  day-time,  and  comes  abroad  only  in  the  evening,  or  at 
night.  D13i  kos,  is  followed  in  construction  by  rimrii  charabotli,  which 
comes  from  ^-in?  diarah,  to  he  destroyed,  or  laid  waste,  (Isa.  Ix.  12  ;  Jer. 
xxvi.  8  ;  Zeph.  iii.  6,)  and  signifies  a  waste  or  desolate  place,  as  the  ruins 
of  an  uninhabited  house.  The  proper  translation,  then,  should  be,  not 
the  owl  of  the  desert,  but  the  owl  of  the  desolate  or  ruined  buildings,  which 
exactly  con-esponds  with  the  habits  of  this  bird ;  for  such  ruinous  places, 
as  is  well  known,  afe  its  ordinary  haunt,  where,  in  undistm-bed  solitude, 
it  may  utter  its  melancholy  howUngs.  The  allusion  in  Gray's  celebrated 
Elegy  may  illustrate  the  language  of  the  text, — 

"  Save  that  from  yonder  ivy  mantled  tower. 
The  moping  owl  does  to  the  night  complain,"  &c. 
The  habit  of  the  owl  in  shunning  the  light  of  day,  and  delighting  in  soli- 
tude, well  describes  the  sensitiveness  with  whicii  the  Psalmist,  through 
the  greatness  of  his  grief,  shrunk  fi-om  society,  and  com-ted  seclusion. 
Bochart  contends  that  di3  here  signifies,  not  the  owl,  but  the  ostrich,  and, 
if  the  Psalmist  is  comparing  himself  to  the  tAVO  birds  specified,  on  account 
of  his  groaning,  this  seems  to  favour  that  translation ;  for  the  female 
ostrich  has  a  most  dismal  and  mournful  voice,  very  much  resembling  the 
lamentation  of  a  human  being  in  deep  distress.  But,  as  has  been  before 
observed,  the  Psalmist  seems  to  refer,  not  so  much  to  the  mournful  voice 
of  these  bh'ds,  as  to  their  solitary  condition. 

'  There  is  here  a  reference  to  the  flat  roof  of  the  eastern  houses,  a  usual 
pjace  of  retirement,  in  ancient  times,  and  even  at  this  day,  to  the  inha- 
bitants of  these  countries. 


rSALM  CII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  101 

slothfulness  in  not  being  affected  with  the  afflictions  of  the 
Church  as  we  ought.  The  Psalmist  compares  his  days  to 
smoke,  and  his  hones  to  the  stones  of  the  hearth,  which,  in  the 
course  of  time,  are  consumed  by  the  fire.  By  hones  he  means 
the  strength  of  man.  And,  were  not  men  devoid  of  feeling, 
such  a  melancholy  spectacle  of  the  wrath  of  God  would  as- 
suredly have  the  effect  of  drying  up  their  bones,  and  wasting 
away  their  whole  vigour. 

4.  My  heart  is  smitten,  and  dried  up  like  grass.  Here  he 
employs  a  third  similitude,  declaring  that  his  heart  is  wither- 
ed, and  wholly  dried  up  like  mown  grass.  But  he  intends  to 
express  something  more  than  that  his  heart  was  withered, 
and  his  bones  reduced  to  a  state  of  dryness.  His  language 
implies,  that  as  the  grass,  when  it  is  cut  down,  can  no  longer 
receive  juice  from  the  earth,  nor  retain  the  life  and  vigour 
which  it  derived  from  the  root,  so  his  heart  being,  as  it  were, 
torn  and  cut  off  from  its  root,  was  deprived  of  its  natural 
nourishment.  The  meaning  of  the  last  clause,  /  have  forgot- 
ten to  eat  my  hread,  is.  My  sorrow  has  been  so  great,  that  I 
have  neglected  my  ordinary  food.  The  Jews,  it  is  true,  during 
their  captivity  in  Babylon,  did  eat  their  food  ;  and  it  would 
have  been  an  evidence  of  their  having  fallen  into  sinful  de- 
spair, had  they  starved  themselves  to  death.  But  what  he 
means  to  say  is,  that  he  was  so  afflicted  with  sorrow  as  to  re- 
fuse all  delights,  and  to  deprive  himself  even  of  food  and 
drink.  True  believers  may  cease  for  a  time  to  partake  of 
their  ordinary  food,  when,  by  voluntary  fasting,  they  humbly 
beseech  God  to  turn  away  his  wrath,  but  the  prophet  does 
not  here  speak  of  that  kind  of  abstinence  from  bodily  suste- 
nance. He  speaks  of  such  as  is  the  effect  of  extreme  mental 
distress,  which  is  accompanied  with  a  loathing  of  food,  and  a 
weariness  of  all  things.  In  the  close  of  the  verse,  he  adds, 
that  his  body  was,  as  it  were,  consuming  or  wasting  away,  so 
that  his  bones  clave  to  his  skin. 

6.  /  have  hecome  like  a  pelican  of  the  wilderness.  Instead  of 
rendering  the  original  word  by  pelican,  some  translate  it  hit- 
tern,  and  others  the  cuckoo.     The  Hebrew  word  here  used 


102  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  ClI. 

for  owl  Is  rendered  by  the  Septuagint  vu%Tr/.o^a^,  which  signi- 
fies a  hat}  But  as  even  the  Jews  are  doubtful  as  to  the 
kind  of  birds  here  intended,  let  it  suffice  us  simply  to 
know,  that  in  this  yerse  there  are  pointed  out  certain  melan- 
choly birds,  whose  place  of  abode  is  in  the  holes  of  moun- 
tains and  in  deserts,  and  whose  note,  instead  of  being  delight- 
ful and  sweet  to  the  ear,  inspires  those  who  hear  it  with  ter- 
ror. I  am  removed,  as  if  he  had  said,  from  the  society  of 
men,  and  am  become  almost  like  a  wild  beast  of  the  forest. 
Although  the  people  of  God  dwelt  in  a  well  cultivated  and 
fertile  region,  yet  the  whole  country  of  Chaldea  and  Assyria 
was  to  them  like  a  wilderness,  since  their  hearts  were  bound 
by  the  strongest  ties  of  affection  to  the  temple,  and  to  their 
native  country  from  which  they  had  been  expelled.  The 
third  similitude,  which  is  taken  from  the  spari^ow,  denotes  such 
grief  as  produces  the  greatest  uneasiness.  The  word  ^1£!Sf, 
tsippor,  signifies  in  general  any  kind  of  bird ;  but  I  have  no 
doubt  that  it  is  here  to  be  understood  of  the  sparroAV.  It  is 
described  as  solitary  or  alone,  because  it  has  been  bereaved  of 
its  mate ;  and  so  deeply  affected  are  these  little  birds  when 
separated  from  their  mates,  that  their  distress  exceeds  almost 
all  sorrow.^ 


'  "  La  translation  Grecqueha  Nicticorax  qui  est  Cbauvesouris." — Fr. 

2  Although  Calvin  expresses  himself  as  having  no  doubt  that  the  spar- 
row is  here  intended,  the  most  eminent  expositors  are  of  a  different 
opinion,  contending  that  it  is  diflScult  to  reconcile  with  the  nature  of  the 
sparrow  the  ideas  of  wakefulness  and  solitude  which  the  Psalmist  repre- 
sents as  characteristic  of  the  bird  to  Avhich  he  compares  himself.  The 
sparrow  is  not  a  solitary  moping  bird  which  sits  mournfully  on  the  house- 
top, nor  so  timid  as  to  betake  itself  to  the  darlvest  corners  for  conceal- 
ment, and  to  spend  the  live  long  night  in  sleepless  anxiety.  It  is  gre- 
garious, is  commonly  found  chirping  and  fluttering  about  in  the  crowd, 
a  pert,  loquacious,  and  bustling  creature,  and  builds  its  nest  in  the  habi- 
tations of  men.  Every  part  of  the  description  leads  to  the  supposition  that 
some  nocturnal  bird  is  to  be  understood,  which  from  instinct  hates  the  light, 
and  comes  forth  from  its  hiding-place  only  when  the  shadows  of  the  even- 
ing fall  to  hunt  its  prey,  and  from  amidst  the  fragments  of  some  mouldering 
ruin  to  attract  the  attention  of  mankind  by  its  mournful  voice.  Accord- 
ingly, it  has  been  thought  that  the  Psalmist  refers  to  some  species  of  the 
owl,  distinguished  for  its  plaintive  cry  and  solitary  disposition. — Pcuton's 
Illustrations  of  Scripture^  vol.  ii.  pp.  355-357.  "  But,"  says  Merrick, 
"  as  chos^  mentioned  in  the  preceding  verse,  seems  also  to  signify 
an  oid^  we  are  perhaps  to  suppose  two  sorts  of  owls  intended,  one  of 
which  confines  itself  to  deserts  or  ruinous  places,  and  the  other  sometimes 


PSALM  CIl.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  1 03 

8.  My  enemies  have  reviled  me  daily ;   and  those  who  are  mad 

against  me  have  sworn  by  me? 

9.  For  I  have  eaten  ashes   like  bread,  and  mingled  my  drink 

loith  iveeping,  [or,  with  my  tears,^ 

10.  On  account  of  thy  indignation  and  thy  wrath :  for  thou  hast 

lifted  me  up,  and  cast  me  down. 

11.  My  days  are  like  a  shadow  which  declineth;  and  I  am  dried 

up  like  the  grass. 

8.  My  enemies  have  reviled  me  daily.  The  faithful,  to  excite 
the  compassion  of  God  towards  them,  tell  him  that  they  are 
not  only  objects  of  mockery  to  their  enemies,  but  also  that 


approaches  cities  or  villages,  and  according  to  Virgil's  description, 
(which  Bochart  quotes  as  conformable  to  that  of  the  Psalmist,)  sits  alone 
on  the  house-  top. 

'  Solaqiie  culmiuibus  ferali  carmine  bubo 
Visa  queri,  et  longas  in  fletum  ducere  voces.' 

^Eneid,  lib.  iv.  1.  462. 

I  doubt  whether  the  Psalmist  would  in  two  verses  together  compare  his 
situation  to  that  of  the  very  same  bird,  with  no  other  difference  than 
that  of  its  sitting  in  the  desert  in  one  verse,  and  on  the  house-top  in  tlie 
other."  Bochart  thinks  that  the  screech-owl  is  intended.  The  reason 
■which  Calvin  assigns  for  the  sparrow  being  called  solitary,  namely,  because 
of  the  extreme  sorrow  which  she  feels  when  deprived  of  her  mate,  does 
not  agree  with  the  natural  history  of  that  bird  ;  for,  unlike  the  turtle,  who, 
on  losing  her  spouse,  remains  in  a  state  of  inconsolable  widowhood,  slie 
accepts  without  reluctance  the  first  companion  that  solicits  her  atibc- 
tions. 
'  Horsley  renders  the  concluding  sentence, — 

"  And  the  profligate  make  me  their  standai-d  of  execration." 

"  Houbigant,"  says  he,  "  rightly  observes,  that  the  verb  y^Ji^Ji  govern- 
ing its  objects  by  the  prefix  ^i  signifies  to  swear  by^  not  to  sivear  against. 
For  lynC^Ji  therefore,  he  would  substitute  another  woi'd  ;  which,  how- 
ever, bears  not  the  sense  he  would  impose  upon  it.  Archbishop  Seeker 
attempts  to  explain  the  text  as  it  stands,  but,  in  my  judgment,  unsuc- 
cessfully, unless  y^[^'J  may  signify  to  execrate  one's  self  or  another.  1 
find  no  example  of  this  use  of  the  verb.  But  the  [use]  of  the  noun  in 
Num.  V.  21,  and  Isa.  Ixv.  15,  may  seem,  in  some  degree,  to  countenance 
the  Archbishop's  interpretation.  The  other  passages  to  which  he 
refers  are  little  to  the  purpose."  Rosenmiiller  gives  a  similar  interpre- 
tation. "  Tliey  swear  by  me ;  they  derive  their  arguments  and  exam- 
ples from  my  calamities ;  when  they  mean  to  imprecate  evil  on  them- 
selves as  the  persons  swearing,  or  on  another  as  the  object  of  their  male- 
diction, they  use  my  name  as  a  form  of  execration,  as  if  they  said,  '  Let 
our  fate  be  that  of  these  miserable  Jews,  if  we  speak  what  is  false.' — 
See  Isa,  Ixv.  1.5;  Jer.  xxix.  2-\" 


104  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CII. 

they  swore  by  them.  The  Indignity  complained  of  is,  tliat 
the  ungodly  so  shamefully  triumphed  over  God's  chosen  peo- 
ple, as  even  to  borroAv  from  their  calamities  a  form  of  swearing 
and  imprecation.  This  was  to  regard  the  fate  of  the  Jews 
as  a  signal  pattern  in  uttering  the  language  of  imprecation. 
When,  therefore,  at  the  present  day  the  ungodly,  in  like 
manner,  give  themselves  loose  reins  in  pouring  forth  against 
us  contumelious  language,  let  us  learn  to  fortify  ourselves 
with  this  armour,  by  which  such  kind  of  temptation,  how- 
ever sharp,  may  be  overcome.  The  Holy  Spirit,  in  dictat- 
ing to  the  faithful  this  form  of  prayer,  meant  to  testify  that 
God  is  moved  by  such  revilings  to  succour  his  people  ;  even 
as  we  find  it  stated  in  Isaiah  xxxvii.  23,  "  Whom  hast  thou 
reproached  and  blasphemed,  and  against  whom  hast  thou 
exalted  thy  voice  ?  even  against  the  Holy  One  of  Israel;"  and 
in  the  verse  immediately  preceding  the  prophet  had  said,  "  He 
hath  despised  thee,  O  daughter  of  Zion  !  against  thee  hath  he 
shaken  the  head,  O  daughter  of  Jerusalem!"  It  is  surely 
an  inestimable  comfort  that  the  more  insolent  our  enemies  are 
against  us,  the  more  is  God  incited  to  gird  himself  to  aid  us. 
In  the  second  clause  the  inspired  writer  expresses  more 
strongly  the  cruelty  of  his  enemies,  when  he  speaks  of 
their  being  mad  arjainst  him.  As  the  verb  77!!?  halal, 
which  we  have  rendered  mad,  generally  signifies  to  praise, 
it  might  here  be  understood  as  having,  by  the  figure  anti- 
phrasis,  a  sense  the  very  opposite — those  who  dispraised  or 
reproached  me.  But  it  is  better  to  follow  the  commonly 
received  interpretation.  Some  maintain  that  they  are  called 
mad,  because  they  manifested  their  own  folly,  making  it 
evident  from  the  manner  in  which  they  acted,  that  they  were 
worthless  persons  ;  but  this  opinion  does  too  much  violence 
to  the  text.  The  more  satisfactory  sense  is,  that  the 
people  of  God  charge  revilers  with  cruelty  or  furious 
hatred. 

9.  For  I  have  eaten  ashes  like  bread.  Some  think  that  the 
order  is  here  inverted,  and  that  the  letter  i,  capli,  the  sign 
of  similitude,  which  is  put  before  Ql?,  lechem,  the  word 
for  bread,  ought  to  be  placed  before  *l3X.  eplier,  the  word  for 


PSALM  CII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  105 

ashes ;  as  if  it  had  been  said,  I  find  no  more  relish  for  my 
bread  than  I.  do  for  ashes ;  and  the  reason  is,  because  sorrow 
of  heart  produces  loathing  of  food.  But  the  simpler  mean- 
ing is,  that  lying  prostrate  on  the  ground,  they  licked,  as  it 
were,  the  earth,  and  so  did  eat  ashes  instead  of  bread.  It  was 
customary  for  those  who  mourned  to  stretch  themselves  at  full 
length  with  their  faces  on  the  ground.  The  prophet,  how- 
ever, intended  to  express  a  different  idea — to  intimate,  that 
when  he  partook  of  his  meals,  there  was  no  table  set  before 
him,  but  his  bread  was  thrown  upon  the  ground  to  him  in  a 
foul  and  disgusting  manner.  Speaking,  therefore,  in  the 
person  of  the  faithful,  he  asserts  that  he  was  so  fixed  to  the 
ground  that  he  did  not  even  rise  from  it  to  take  his  food. 
The  same  sentiment  is  expressed  in  the  last  part  of  the  verse 
— I  have  mingled  my  drink  with  weeping ;  for  while  mourners 
usually  restrain  their  sorrow  during  the  short  time  in  which 
they  refresh  themselves  with  food,  he  declares  that  his  mourn- 
ing was  without  intermission.  Some,  instead  of  reading  in 
the  first  clause,  as  bread,  read,  in  bread ;^  and  as  the  two  let- 
ters, ^,  caph,  and  ^,  beth,  nearly  resemble  each  other,  I  prefer 
reading  in  bread,  which  agrees  better  with  the  second  clause. 

10.  On  account  of  thy  anger  and  thy  ivrath.  He  now  de- 
clares that  the  greatness  of  his  grief  proceeded  not  only  from 
outward  troubles  and  calamities,  but  from  a  sense  that  these 
were  a  punishment  inflicted  upon  him  by  God.  And  surely 
there  is  nothing  which  ought  to  wound  our  hearts  more 
deeply,  than  when  we  feel  that  God  is  angry  with  us.  The 
meaning  then  amounts  to  this — O  Lord  !  I  do  not  confine 
my  attention  to  those  things  which  would  engage  the  mind 
of  worldly  men ;  but  I  rather  turn  my  thoughts  to  thy 
wrath  ;  for  were  it  not  that  thou  art  angry  with  us,  we  would 
have  been  still  enjoying  the  inheritance  given  us  by  thee, 
from  which  we  have  justly  been  expelled  by  thy  displeasure. 
When   God  then   strikes  us  with  his  hand,  we  should  not 

^  Supposing  the  I'eading  to  be  Qn^3,  balechem,  instead  of  Qn^3, 
calechem ;  and  fi'om  the  similarity  in  fonn  between  the  letters  2  find 
3,  transcribers  might  very  readily  have  mistaken  the  latter  for  the 
former. 


106  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CII. 

merely  groan  under  the  strokes  inflicted  upon  us,  as  foolish 
men  usually  do,  but  should  chiefly  look  to  the  cause  that  we 
may  be  truly  humbled.  This  is  a  lesson  which  it  would  be 
of  great  advantage  to  us  to  learn. 

The  last  clause  of  the  yerse.  Thou  hast  lifted  me  up,  and 
cast  me  down,  may  be  understood  in  two  ways.      As  we 
lift  up  what  we  intend  to  throw  down  with  greater  violence 
against   the   ground,   the    sentence   may    denote    a   violent 
method  of  casting  down,  as  if  it  had  been  said,  Thou  hast 
crushed  me    more   severely  by  throwing  me    down   head- 
long from  on  high,  than  if  I  had   merely  fallen  from  the 
station  which  I  occupied.^     But  this  seems  to  be  another  am- 
plification of  his  grief.     Nothing  being  more  bitter  to  an  in- 
dividual  than   to    be  reduced  from  a  happy  condition  to 
extreme  misery,  the  j^rophet  mournfully  complains  that  the 
chosen  people  were  deprived  of  the  distinguished  advantages 
Avhich  God  had  conferred  upon  them  in  time  past,  so  that  the 
very  remembrance  of  his  former  goodness,  which  should  have 
afforded  consolation  to  them,  embittered  their  sorrow.     Nor 
was  it  the  effect  of  ingratitude  to  turn  the  consideration  of 
the  divine  benefits,  which  they  had  formerly  received,  into 
matter  of  sadness ;  since  they  acknowledged  that  their  being 
reduced  to  such  a  state  of  wretchedness  and  degradation  was 
tlurough  their  own  sins.    God  has  no  delight  in  changing,  as  if, 
after  having  given  us  some  taste  of  his  goodness,  he  intended 

1  "  AVhat  is  meant  by  i^nXt^^Ji  '  tliou  hast  lifted  me  up,'  &c.,  is  to  be 
judged  by  the  immediate  antecedents,  indignation  and  wrath ;  by  these  is 
meant  vehement  displeasure  and  anger,  and  in  God,  in  whom  anger  is 
not  found,  effects  that  bear  analogy  with  those  which  proceed  from  angry 
men.     To  such  it  is  ordinary  to  cast  to  the  ground  any  thing  that  they 
are  displeased  with,  and  where  the  displeasure  is  vehement,  to  lift  it  up 
first  a,s  high  as  they  can,  that  they  may  cast  it  down  with  more  violence, 
and  dash  it  in  pieces  by  the  fall.    And  this  is  the  meaning  of  the  phrase 
here,  and  so  is  a  pathetical  expression  of  his  present  affliction,  heightened 
by  the  dignity  of  the  public  office  wherein  Nehemiah  was  at  the  time  of 
writing  this  mournful  psalm,  (Neh.  i.  1,  and  ii.  1.)     The  greater  his  place 
was  at  Shushan,  the  deeper  this  sorrow  for  his  countrymen  and  for  Jeru- 
salem (Neh.  i.  3)  pierced  him,  whereupon  he  complains  that  God,  by 
way  of  indignation,  hath  dealt  with  him,  as  those  that  take  an  earthen 
vessel  and  throw  it  against  the  pavement,  and  that  they  may  beat  it  to 
pieces  the  more  certainly,  lift  it  tip  first  as  high  as  they  can,  to  throw  it 
down  with  more  violence.    This  the  LXX.  have  fitly  rendered,  evt^^u: 
x^xri^px^i;  ftt,  and  the  Latin,  elevans  illisistl  me,  '  having  lifted  me  up, 
thou  hast  dashed  me  to  pieces.' " —i/ammoHc?, 


PSALM  CII.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  107 

forthwith  to  deprive  us  of  it.  As  his  goodness  is  inexhausti- 
ble, so  his  blessing  would  flow  upon  us  without  intermission, 
were  it  not  for  our  sins  which  break  off  the  course  of  it.  Al- 
though, then,  the  remembrance  of  God's  benefits  ought  to 
assuage  our  sorrows,  yet  still  it  is  a  great  aggravation  of  our 
calamity  to  have  fallen  from  an  elevated  position,  and  to  find 
that  we  have  so  provoked  his  anger,  as  to  make  him  with- 
draw from  us  his  benignant  and  bountiful  hand.  Thus  when 
we  consider  that  the  image  of  God,  which  distinguished 
Adam,  was  the  brightness  of  the  celestial  glory  ;  and  when, 
on  the  contrary,  we  now  see  the  ignominy  and  degradation 
to  which  God  has  subjected  us  in  token  of  his  wrath,  this 
contrast  cannot  surely  fail  of  making  us  feel  more  deeply 
the  wretchedness  of  our  condition.  Whenever,  therefore, 
God,  after  having  stripped  us  of  the  blessings  which  he  had 
conferred  upon  us,  gives  us  up  to  reproach,  let  us  learn  that 
we  have  so  much  the  greater  cause  to  lament,  because, 
through  our  own  fault,  we  have  turned  light  into  darkness. 

11.  My  days  are  like  the  shadow  which  declineth}  When 
the  sun  is  directly  over  our  heads,  tliat  is  to-  say,  at  mid-day, 
we  do  not  observe  such  sudden  changes  of  the  shadows  which 
his  light  produces ;  but  when  he  begins  to  decline  towards 
the  west  the  shadows  vary  almost  every  moment.  This  is 
the  reason  why  the  sacred  writer  expressly  makes  mention, 
of  the  shadow  xohick  declineth.  What  he  attributes  to  the 
afflicted  Church  seems  indeed  to  be  equally  applicable  to  all 
men ;  but  he  had  a  special  reason  for  employing  this  com- 
parison to  illustrate  the  condition  of  the  Church  when  sub- 
jected to  the  calamity  of  exile.  It  is  true,  that  as  soon  as 
we  advance  towards  old  age,  we  speedily  fall  into  decay.. 
But  the  complaint  here  is,  that  this  befell  the  people  of  God 


'  It  is  literally,  "  My  days  are  like  a  shadow,  stretched  out."  As. 
the  sun  descemis  in  the  firmament,  the  shadow  of  any  terrestrial  ob- 
ject gradually  lengthens,  and  grows  fainter  as  it  becomes  longer,  until 
shooting  out  to  an  unmeasurable  length,  it  disappears.  The  Psalmist 
complains  that  his  days  were  like  a  shadow  nearly  stretched  to  its  ut- 
most length,  and  at  the  point  of  being  lost  in  total  darkness.  He  felt 
that  he  had  far  passed  his  meridian,  that  the  sun  of  life  was  about  to 
set,  and  the  dark  night  of  death  to  fall  down  upon  hira. — See  Ps.  cix.  23. 


108  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CH. 

in  the  very  flower  of  their  age.  By  the  term  days  is  to  be  un- 
derstood the  Avhole  course  of  their  life  ;  and  the  meaning  is, 
that  the  captivity  was  to  the  godly  as  the  setting  of  the  sun, 
because  they  quipkly  failed.  In  the  end  of  the  verse  the 
simiHtude  of  withered  grass,  used  a  little  before,  is  repeated, 
to  intimate  that  their  life  during  the  captivity  was  involved 
in  many  sorrows  which  dried  up  in  them  the  very  sap  of  life. 
Nor  is  this  wonderful,  since  to  live  in  that  condition  would 
have  been  worse  than  a  hundred  deaths  had  they  not  been 
sustained  by  the  hope  of  future  deliverance.  But  although 
they  were  not  altogether  overwhelmed  by  temptation,  they 
must  have  been  in  great  distress,  because  they  saw  them- 
selves abandoned  by  God. 

12.  And  thou,  0  Jehovah  !  shall  dwell  for  ever  ;  and  the  memo- 

rial of  thee  from  generation  to  generation. 

13.  Thou  shalt  arise,  and  have  mercy  upon  Zion  ;  for  the  time 

to  pity  her,  for  the  appointed  time,  is  come. 

14.  For  thy  servants  take  pleasure  in  her  stones,  and  will  have 

compassion  upon  her  dust. 

12.  And  thou,  O  Jehovah  I  shalt  dwell  for  ever.  When  the 
prophet,  for  his  own  encouragement,  sets  before  himself  the 
eternity  of  God,  it  seems,  at  first  sight,  to  be  a  far-fetched 
consolation  ;  for  what  benefit  will  accrue  to  us  from  the  fact 
that  God  sits  immutable  on  his  heavenly  throne,  when,  at  the 
same  time,  our  frail  and  perishing  condition  does  not  permit 
us  to  continue  unmoved  for  a  single  moment  ?  And,  what  is 
more,  this  knowledge  of  the  blessed  repose  enjoyed  by  God 
enables  us  the  better  to  perceive  that  our  life  is  a  mere  illu- 
sion. But  the  inspired  writer,  calling  to  remembrance  the 
promises  by  which  God  had  declared  that  he  would  make 
the  Church  the  object  of  his  special  care,  and  particularly  that 
remarkable  article  of  the  covenant,  "  I  will  dwell  in  the  midst 
of  you,"  (Exod.  xxv.  8,)  and,  trusting  to  that  sacred  and  indis- 
soluble bond,  has  no  hesitation  in  representing  all  the  godly 
languishing,  though  they  were  inastateof  suflTeringand  wretch- 
edness, as  partakers  of  this  celestial  glory  in  which  God 
dwells.  The  word  inemorial is  also  to  be  viewed  in  the  same  light. 


PSALM  CII.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  109 

What  advantage  would  we  derive  from  this  eternity  and  im- 
mutability of  God's  being,  unless  we  had  in  our  hearts  the 
knowledge  of  him,  which,  produced  by  his  gracious  cove- 
nant, begets  in  us  the  confidence  arising  from  a  mutual  rela- 
tionship between  him  and  us?  The  meaning  then  is,  "  We  are 
like  withered  grass,  we  are  decaying  every  moment,  we  are 
not  far  from  death,  yea  rather,  we  are,  as  it  were,  already 
dwelling  in  the  grave ;  but  since  thou,  O  God !  hast  made  a 
covenant  with  us,  by  which  thou  hast  promised  to  protect 
and  defend  thine  own  people,  and  hast  brought  thyself  into 
a  gracious  relation  to  us,  giving  us  the  fullest  assurance  that 
thou  Avilt  always  dwell  in  the  midst  of  us,  instead  of  despond- 
ing, we  must  be  of  good  courage ;  and  although  we  may  see 
only  ground  for  despair  if  we  depend  upon  ourselves,  we 
ought  nevertheless  to  lift  up  our  minds  to  the  heavenly 
throne,  from  Avhich  thou  wilt  at  length  stretch  forth  thy 
hand  to  help  us."  Whoever  is  in  a  moderate  degree  acquaint- 
ed with  the  sacred  writings,  will  readily  acknov^ledge  that 
whenever  we  are  besieged  with  death,  in  a  variety  of  forms, 
we  should  reason  thus :  As  God  continues  unchangeably  the 
same — ''  without  variableness  or  shadow  of  turning" — nothing 
can  hinder  him  from  aiding  us  ;  and  this  he  will  do,  because 
we  have  his  word,  by  which  he  has  laid  himself  under  obli- 
gation to  us,  and  because  he  has  deposited  with  us  his  own 
memorial,  which  contains  in  it  a  sacred  and  indissoluble  bond 
of  fellowship. 

13.  Thou  shalt  arise,  and  have  mercy  upon  Zion.  We  have 
here  the  conclusion  drawn  from  the  truth  stated  in  the  pre- 
ceding verse — God  is  eternal,  and  therefore  he  will  have  com- 
passion upon  Zion.  God's  eternity  is  to  be  considered  as 
impressed  upon  the  memorial,  or  word,  by  which  he  has 
brought  himself  under  obligation  to  maintain  our  welfare. 
Besides,  as  he  is  not  destitute  of  the  power,  and  as  it  is  im- 
possible for  him  to  deny  himself,  we  ought  not  to  entertain 
any  apprehension  of  his  failing  to  accomplish,  in  his  own 
time,  what  he  has  promised.  We  have  observed,  in  another 
place,  that  the  verb  to  arise  refers  to  what  is  made  apparent 
to  the  eye  of  sense ;  for  although  he  continues  always  im- 


110  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CII. 

mutable,  yet,  in  putting  forth  his  power,  he  manifests  his 
majesty  by  the  external  act,  as  it  Is  termed. 

When  the  prophet  treats  of  the  restoration  of  the  Church,  he 
sets  forth  the  divine  mercy  as  its  cause.  He  represents  this 
mercy  under  a  twofold  aspect,  and  therefore  employs  different 
words.  In  the  first  place,  as  In  the  matter  under  considera- 
tion, the  good  deserts  of  men  are  entirely  out  of  the  question, 
and  as  God  cannot  be  led  from  any  cause  external  to  himself 
to  build  up  his  Church,  the  prophet  traces  the  cause  of  it 
solely  to  the  free  goodness  of  God.  In  the  second  place,  he 
contemplates  this  mercy  as  connected  with  the  Divine  pro- 
mises. Thou  shalt  have  mercy  upon  Zion,for  the  time  appoint- 
ed, according  to  thy  good  pleasxire,  is  come.  Meanwhile,  it  is 
to  be  observed  that,  in  magnifying  the  Divine  mercy,  his 
design  was  to  teach  true  believers  that  their  safety  depended 
on  it  alone.  But  we  must  how  attend  to  what  time  is  alluded 
to.  The  word  lyiD?  moed,  signifies  all  kind  of  fixed  or  ap- 
pointed days.  There  Is,  then,  beyond  all  doubt,  a  reference 
to  the  prophecy  of  Jeremiah,  recorded  in  the  xxix.  chapter 
of  his  book,  at  the  10th  verse,  and  repeated  in  the  last  chap- 
ter of  the  Second  Book  of  Chronicles,  at  the  21st  verse. 
That  the  faithful  might  not  sink  into  despondency,  through 
the  long  continuance  of  their  calamities,  they  needed  to  be 
supported  by  the  hope  that  an  end  to  their  captivity  had  been 
appointed  by  God,  and  that  it  would  not  extend  beyond 
seventy  years.  Daniel  was  employed  in  meditating  on  this 
very  topic,  when  "  he  set  his  face  unto  the  Lord  God,  to 
seek,  by.  prayer  and  supplications,"  the  re-establishment  of 
the  Church,  (chap.  ix.  2.)  In  like  manner,  the  object  now 
aimed  at  by  the  prophet  was  to  encourage  both  himself  and 
others  to  confidence  in  prayer,  putting  God  in  mind  of  this 
remarkable  prophecy,  as  an  argument  to  induce  him  to  bring 
to  a  termination  their  melancholy  captivity.  And  surely  if, 
in  our  prayers,  we  do  not  continually  remember  the  Divine 
promises,  we  only  cast  forth  our  desires  into  the  air  like 
smoke.  It  is,  however,  to  be  observed,  that  although  the 
time  of  the  promised  deliverance  was  approaching,  or  had  al- 
ready arrived,  yet  the  prophet  does  not  cease  from  the  exer- 
cise of  prayer,  to  which  God  stirs  us  up  by  means  of  his  word. 


PSALM  CII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  1 1 1 

And  although  the  time  was  fixed,  yet  he  calls  upon  God,  for 
the  performance  of  his  covenant,  in  such  a  manner,  as  that 
he  is  still  betaking  himself  to  his  free  goodness  alone ;  for  the 
promises  by  which  God  brings  himself  under  obligation  to  us 
do  not,  in  any  degree,  obscure  his  grace. 

14.  For  thy  servants  take  pleasure  in  her  stones.  To  restrict 
this  to  Cyrus  and  Darius  is  altogether  unsuitable.  It  is  not 
at  all  wonderful  to  find  the  Jewish  doctors  hunting,  with  ex- 
cessive eagerness,  after  foolish  subtilties ;  but  I  am  surprised 
that  some  of  our  modern  commentators  subscribe  to  such  a 
poor  and  cold  interpretation.  I  am  aware  that,  in  some 
places,  the  unbelieving  and  the  wicked  are  called  the  servants 
of  God,  as  in  Jeremiah  xxv.  9,  because  God  makes  use  of 
them  as  instruments  for  executing  his  judgments.  Nay,  I 
admit  that  Cyrus  is  called  by  name  God's  chosen  servant, 
(Isaiah  xliv.  28,)  but  the  Holy  Spirit  would  not  have  be- 
stowed so  honourable  a  title,  either  on  him  or  Darius,  without 
some  qualification.  Besides,  it  is  probable  that  this  psalm 
Avas  composed  before  the  edict  was  published,  which  granted 
the  people  liberty  to  return  to  their  native  country.  It 
therefore  follows,  that  God's  people  alone  are  included  in 
the  catalogue  of  his  servants,  because  it  is  their  purpose, 
during  the  whole  of  their  life,  to  obey  his  will  in  all  things. 
The  prophet,  I  have  no  doubt,  speaks  in  general  of  the 
whole  Church,  intimating  that  this  was  not  the  wish  en- 
tertained merely  by  one  man,  but  was  shared  by  the  whole 
body  of  the  Church.  The  more  effectually  to  induce  God  to 
listen  to  his  prayer,  he  calls  upon  all  the  godly,  who  were 
then  in  the  world,  to  join  with  him  in  the  same  request.  It, 
unquestionably,  very  much  contributes  to  increase  the  confi- 
dence of  success,  when  supplications  are  made  by  all  the 
people  of  God  together,  as  if  in  the  person  of  one  man,  ac- 
cording to  what  the  Apostle  Paul  declares,  (2  Cor.  i.  11,)  "  Ye 
also,  helping  together  by  prayer  for  us,  that,  for  the  gift  be- 
stowed upon  us,  by  the  means  of  many  persons,  thanks  may 
be  given  by  many  on  our  behalf." 

Farther,  when  the  deformed  materials  which  remained  of 
the  ruins  of  the  temple  and  city  are  emphatically  termed  the 


112  COMMENTARY  UPON  TSALM  CII. 

stones  of  Zion,  this  is  designed  to  intimate,  not  only  that  the 
faithful  in  time  past  were  affected  Avith  the  outward  splendour 
of  the  temple,  when,  besides  attracting  the  eyes  of  men,  it  had 
power  to  ravish  with  admiration  all  their  senses,  but  also,  that 
although  the  temple  was  destroyed,  and  nothing  was  to  be  seen 
where  it  stood  but  hideous  desolation,  yet  their  attachment 
to  it  continued  unalterable,  and  they  acknowledged  the  glory 
of  God,  in  its  crumbling  stones  and  decayed  rubbish.  As  the 
temple  was  built  by  the  appointment  of  God,  and  as  he  had 
promised  its  restoration,  it  was,  doubtless,  proper  and  becom- 
ing that  the  godly  should  not  withdraw  their  affections  from 
its  ruins.  Meanwhile,  as  an  antidote  against  the  discouraging 
influence  of  the  taunting    mockery    of   the    heathen,    they 
required  to  look  into  the  Divine  word  for  something  else  than 
what  presented  itself  to  their  bodily  eyes.    Knowing  that  the 
very  site  of  the  temple  was  consecrated  to  God,  and  that 
that  sacred  edifice  was  to  be  rebuilt  on  the  same  spot,  they 
did  not  cease  to  regard  it  with  reverence,  although  its  stones 
lay  in  disorder,  mutilated  and  broken,  and  heaps  of  useless  rub- 
bish Avere  to  be  seen  scattered  here  and  there.  The  sadder  the 
desolation  is  to  which  the  Church  has  been  brought,  the  less 
ought  our  affections  to  be  alienated  from  her.  Yea,  rather,  this 
compassion  which  the  faithful  then  exercised,^  ought  to  draw 
from  us  sighs  and  groans ;  and  would  to  God  that  the  me- 
lancholy description  in  this  passage  were  not  so  applicable  to 
our  own  time  as  it  is  !     He,  no  doubt,  has  his  churches  erect- 
ed in  some  places,  where  he  is  purely  worshipped ;  but,  if  we 
cast  our  eyes  upon  the  whole  world,  we  behold  his  word 
every  where  trampled  under  foot,  and  his  worship  defiled  by 
countless  abominations.  Such  being  the  case,  his  holy  temple 
is    assuredly    every  where  demolished,    and   in   a   state    of 
wretched  desolation ;  yea,  even  those  small  churches  in  which 
he  dwells  are  torn  and  scattered.     What  are  these  humble 
erections,  when  compared  with  that  splendid  edifice  described 
by  Isaiah,  Ezekiel,  and  Zechariah  ?  But  no  desolation  ought 
to  prevent  us  from  loving  the  very  stones  and  dust  of  the 
Church.  Let  us  leave  the  Papists  to  be  proud  of  their  altars,,. 

^  *'  Mais  qui  plus  est  ceste  compassion   que  les  fideles  out   teiiu 
\ov&."—Fr. 


r.SALM  CII.  THE  BOOK  OF  TSALMS.  113 

their  huge  buildings,  and  their  other  exhibitions  of  pomp  and 
splendour ;  for  all  thafr  heathenish  magnificence  is  nothing 
else  but  an  abomination  in  the  sight  of  God  and  his  angels, 
whereas  the  ruins  of  the  true  temple  are  sacred. 

15.  And  the  nations  shall  fear  the  name  of  Jehovah,^  and  all 

the  kings  of  the  earth  thy  glory. 

16.  For  Jehovah  hath  built  up  Zion,  and  hath  appeared  in  his 

glory. 

17.  He  hath  regarded  the  prayer  of  the  solitary,''  and  hath  not 

despised  their  prayers.^ 

18.  This  shall  be  registered  for  the  generation  that  is  to  come  : 

and  the  people  to  be  created  shall  praise  him.* 

15.  And  the  nations  shall  fear  the  name  of  Jehovah.  The 
prophet  here  describes  the  fruit  which  would  result  from  the 
deliverance  of  the  ancient  tribes ;  which  is,  that  thereby 
God's  glory  would  be  rendered  illustrious  among  nations  and 
kings.     He  tacitly  intimates,  that  when  the  Church  is  op- 


^  "  Craindront  ton  nom,  Seignem\" — Fr.  "  Shall  fear  thy  name,  O 
Lord!" 

'  The  original  word  for  the  solitary  is  -lyiHi  ha-ardr ;  and  as  nyiy 
signifies  the  tamarish  or  myrtle^  some  translate,  "  the  afiiicted  or  dejected 
man  ;"  the  myrtle  being  an  emblem  of  a  low  and  depressed  state  of  the 
Church.  Accordingly,  in  the  Chaldee,  it  is  "  the  prayer  of  the  desolate," 
and  in  the  Septuagint,  "  the  prayer  of  the  humble."  Houbigant  derives 
the  word  from  ■^'^'^,,  frangere,  to  breaks  and  renders  it,  "  the  afflicted." 
Others  read,  "  the  destitute,"  supposing  the  word  to  come  from  rny,  was 
naked.,  as  Fry  :  "  '  When  he  hath  turned  himself  to  the  prayer  of  the  des- 
titute'— the  people  emptied,  and  poured  forth — made  bare  or  stripped 
naked."  Others  prefer  the  version,  "  He  regarded  him  when  exciting 
his  prayer,"  as  if  the  root  of  the  Hebrew  term  were  -iiy,  to  excite. 

3  Horsley  translates  the  verbs  in  the  16th  and  17th  verses  in  the 
present, — 

"  Truly  Jehovah  is  building  Zion  ; 
He  appeareth  in  his  glory. 
He  regardeth  the  prayer  of  the  destitute, 
And  their  prayer  he  despiseth  not." 

He  regards  the  psalm  as  a  "  prayer  and  lamentation  of  a  believer,  in 
the  time  of  the  last  Antichristian  persecution ;"  and  after  observing  that 
the  16th  and  17th  verses  are  rendered  by  our  English  Bible  in  the  fu- 
ture, he  says,  "  These  futures,  in  the  original,  are  all  present ;  _'  buildeth — 
appeareth — regardeth — and  despiseth  not.'  The  Psalmist  in  his  confi- 
dence of  the  event  speaks  of  it  as  doing." 
*  "  Le  Seigneur." — Fr.     "  The  Lord."    In  the  Hebrew  it  is  ns  JO'h. 

VOL.  IV.  H 


114  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  ClI. 

pressed,  the  Divine  glory  is  at  the  same  time  debased  ;  even 
as  the  God  of  Israel  was,  no  doubt,  at  the  period  referred  to, 
derided  by  the  ungodly,  as  if  he  had  been  destitute  of  the 
power  to  succour  his  people.  It  is  therefore  declared,  that  if 
he  redeem  them,  it  will  afford  such  a  remarkable  proof  of  his 
power  as  to  constrain  the  Gentiles  to  reverence  Him  whom 
they  contemned. 

The  concluding  part  of  the  16th  verse,  He  hath  appeared  in 
his  glory,  refers  to  the  manifestation  which  God  made  of  him- 
self when  he  brought  forth  his  Church  from  the  darkness  of 
death ;  even  as  it  is  said  in  another  place  concerning  her 
first  deliverance,  "  Judah  was  his  sanctuary,  and  Israel  his 
dominion,"  (Psalm  cxiv.  2.)  In  like  manner  in  the  present 
passage,  by  again  gathering  to  himself  his  people  who  were 
dispersed,  and  by  raising  his  Church,  as  it  were,  from  death 
to  life,  he  appeared  in  his  glory.  It  is  surely  no  ordinary 
consolation  to  know  that  the  love  of  God  towards  us  is  so 
great,  that  he  will  have  his  glory  to  shine  forth  in  our  salva- 
tion. It  is  true,  that  when  the  pious  Jews  were  in  the  midst 
of  their  afflictions,  the  working  of  divine  power  was  hidden 
from  them ;  but  they  nevertheless  always  beheld  it  by  the 
eye  of  faith,  and  in  the  mirror  of  the  divine  promises. 

17.  He  hath  regarded  the  prayer  of  the  solitary.  It  is  wor- 
thy of  notice,  that  the  deliverance  of  the  chosen  tribes  is 
ascribed  to  the  prayers  of  the  faithful.  God's  mercy  was 
indeed  the  sole  cause  which  led  him  to  deliver  hia  Church, 
according  as  he  had.  graciously  promised  this  blessing  to  her ; 
but  to  stir  up  true  believers  to  greater  earnestness  in  prayer, 
he  promises  that  what  he  has  purposed  to  do  of  his  own  good 
pleasure,  he  will  grant  in  answer  to  their  requests.  Nor  is 
there  any  inconsistency  between  these  two  truths,  that  God 
presei'ves  the  Church  in  the  exercise  of  his  free  mercy,  and 
that  he  preserves  her  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  his  people ; 
for  as  their  prayers  are  connected  with  the  free  promises,  the 
effect  of  the  former  depends  entirely  upon  the  latter.  When 
it  is  said,  that  tlie  prayers  of  the  solitary  were  heard,  it  is  not 
to  be  understood  of  one  man  only,  (for  in  the  clause  imme- 
diately following,  the  plural  number  is  used  ;)   but  all  the 


PSALM  CII.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  115 

Jews,  SO  long  as  they  remained  ejected  from  their  own  country, 
and  lived  as  exiles  in  a  strange  land,  are  called  solitary,  be- 
cause, although  the  countries  of  Assyria  and  Chaldea  were 
remarkably  fertile  and  delightful,  yet  these  wretched  captives, 
as  I  have  previously  observed,  wandered  there  as  in  a  wilder- 
ness. And  as  at  that  time  this  solitary  people  obtained 
favour  by  sighing,  so  now  when  the  faithful  are  scattered, 
and  are  without  their  regular  assemblies,  the  Lord  will  hear 
their  groanings  in  this  desolate  dispersion,  provided  they  all 
with  one  consent,  and  with  unfeigned  faith,  earnestly  breathe 
after  the  restoration  of  the  Church. 

18.  Tliis  shall  he  registered  for  the  generation  that  is  to  come. 
The  Psalmist  magnifies  still  more  the  fruit  of  the  deliverance 
of  his  people,  for  the  purpose  of  encouraging  himself  and 
others  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  the  object  of  theu'  prayers. 
He  intimates,  that  this  will  be  a  memorable  work  of  God,  the 
praise  of  which  shall  be  handed  down  to  succeeding  ages. 
Many  things  are  worthy  of  praise,  wliich  are  soon  forgotten ; 
but  the  prophet  distinguishes  between  the  salvation  of  the 
Church,  for  which  he  makes  supplication,  and  common  bene- 
fits. By  the  word  register,  he  means  that  the  history  of  this 
would  be  worthy  of  having  a  place  in  the  public  records,  that 
the  remembrance  of  it  might  be  transmitted  to  future  gene- 
rations. There  is  in  the  words  a  beautiful  contrast  between 
the  new  creation  of  the  people  and  the  present  destruction  ; 
of  which  interpreters  improperly  omit  to  take  any  notice. 
When  the  people  were  expelled  from  their  country,  the 
Church  was  in  a  manner  extinguished.  Her  very  name  might 
seem  to  be  dead,  when  the  Jews  were  mingled  among  the 
heathen  nations,  and  no  longer  constituted  a  distinct  and 
united  body.  Their  return  was  accordingly  as  it  were  a  se- 
cond birth.  Accordingly,  the  prophet  with  propriety  expects 
a  new  creation.  Although  the  Church  had  perished,  he  was 
persuaded  that  God,  by  his  wonderful  power,  would  make  her 
rise  again  from  death  to  renovated  life.  This  is  a  remarkable 
passage,  showing  that  the  Church  is  not  always  so  preserved, 
as  to  continue  to  outward  appearance  to  survive,  but  that 
when  she  seems  to  be  dead,  she  is  suddenly  created  anew, 


116  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  ClI. 

whenever  it  so  pleases  God.  Let  no  desolation,  therefore, 
which  befalls  the  Church,  deprive  us  of  the  hope,  that  as  God 
once  created  the  world  out  of  nothing,  so  it  is  his  proper  work 
to  bring  forth  the  Church  from  the  darkness  of  death. 

19.  For  he  hath  looked  down  from  the  high  place  of  his  holi- 

ness ;^  Jehovah  hath  looked  down  from  the  heavens  unto  the 
earth, 

20.  To  hear  the  groaning  of  the  prisoner  ;  to  release  the  sons  of 

death ;' 

21.  That  the  name  of  Jehovah  may  he  declared  in  Zion,  and 

his  praise  in  Jerusalem  ; 

22.  When  the  peoples  [or  the  nations']  shall  he  gathered  together, 

and  the  kingdoms  to  serve  Jehovah. 

19.  For  he  hath  looked  down  from  the  high  place  of  his  holi- 
ness. Now  the  prophet  contemplates  the  deliverance  after 
which  he  breathes  with  anxious  desire,  as  if  it  had  been  al- 
ready accomplished.  That  the  malignity  of  men  might  not 
attempt  to  obscure  such  a  signal  blessing  of  Heaven,  he  openly 
and  in  express  terms  claims  for  God  his  rightful  praise ;  and 
the  people  were  constrained  in  many  ways  to  acknowledge 
therein  the  divine  hand.  Long  before  they  were  dragged  into 
captivity,  this  calamity  had  been  foretold,  that  when  it  took 
place  the  judgment  of  God  might  be  clearly  manifested  ;  and 
at  the  same  time  deliverance  had  been  promised  them,  and 
the  time  specified  to  be  after  the  lapse  of  seventy  years.  The 
ingratitude  of  men  therefore  could  not  devise  or  invent  any 
other  cause  to  which  to  ascribe  their  return  but  the  mere 
goodness  of  God.  Accordingly,  it  is  said,  that  God  looked 
down  from  heaven,  that  the  Jews  might  not  attribute  to  the 
grace  and  favour  of  Cyrus  the  deliverance  which  evidently 


'  "  Du  haut  lieu  de  son  sanctuaire." — Fr.    "  From  the  high  place  of 
his  sanctuaiy. 

*  "  C'est,  ceux  qui  estoyent  jugez  k  mort." — ^Note,  Fr.  marg.  "  That 
is,  those  who  were  appointed  to  death,  or  destined  to  be  put  to  death." 
"  Sons  of  death"  is  a  Hebraism.  "  According  to  the  Hebrew  idiom,  the 
thing  which  is  the  effect,  the  object,  the  production  of  another  thing,  or  in 
almost  any  way  can  be  said  to  belong  to  it,  is  called  '  the  sou'  of  that  other. 
The  expression  is  so  thoroughly  naturalised  with  us,  that  we  are  hardly 
aware  of  its  origin,  which  appears  to  be  in  the  Hebrew  writers."— ilfan^ 


PSALM  CII.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  117 

proceeded  from  Heaven.  The  high  place  of  his  holiness  or 
sanctuary  is  here  equivalent  to  heaven.  As  the  temple,  in 
some  parts  of  Scripture,  (Psalm  xxvi.  8,  and  Ixxvi.  2,)  is 
called  "  the  habitation  of  God,"  in  respect  of  men,  so,  that 
we  may  not  imagine  that  there  is  any  thing  earthly  in  God, 
he  assigns  to  himself  a  dwelling-place  in  heaven,  not  because 
he  is  shut  up  there,  but  that  we  may  seek  him  above  the 
world. 

20.  To  hear  the  groaning  oj  the  prisoner.  Here  the  prophet 
repeats  once  more  what  he  had  previously  touched  upon  con- 
cerning prayer,  in  order  again  to  stir  up  the  hearts  of  the 
godly  to  engage  in  that  exercise,  and  that  after  their  deliver- 
ance they  might  know  it  to  have  been  granted  to  their  faith, 
because,  depending  on  the  divine  promises,  they  had  sent  up 
their  groanings  to  heaven.  He  calls  them  prisoners;  for 
although  they  were  not  bound  in  fetters,  their  captivity  re- 
sembled a  most  rigorous  imprisonment.  Yea,  he  affirms  a 
little  after  that  they  were  devoted  to  deathy  to  give  them  to  un- 
derstand that  their  life  and  safety  would  have  been  altogether 
hopeless,  had  they  not  been  delivered  from  death  by  the  ex- 
traordinary power  of  God. 

21.  That  the  name  of  Jehovah  may  be  declared  in  Zion. 
Here  is  celebrated  a  still  more  ample  and  richer  fruit  of  this 
deliverance  than  has  been  previously  mentioned,  which  is, 
that  the  Jews  would  not  only  be  united  into  one  body  to  give 
thanks  to  God,  but  that,  when  brought  back  to  their  own 
country,  they  would  also  gather  kings  and  nations  into  the 
same  unity  of  faith,  and  into  the  same  divine  worship  with 
themselves.  At  that  time  it  was  a  thing  altogether  incre- 
dible, not  only  that  the  praises  of  God  should  within  a  short 
period  resound,  as  in  the  days  of  old,  in  that  temple  which 
was  burnt  and  completely  overthrown,^  but  also  that  the 
nations  should  resort  thither  from  all  quarters,  and  be  as- 
sociated together  in  the  service  of  God  with  the  Jews,  who 
were  then  like  a  putrified  carcase.     The  prophet,  to  inspire 


1  (1 


Qui  estoit  brusld  et  du  tout  ruin^." — Fr. 


118  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CII. 

the  people  with  the  hope  of  returning  to  their  own  land,  ar- 
gues that  it  was  impossible  that  the  place  which  God  had 
chosen  for  himself  should  be  left  in  perpetual  desolation ; 
and    declares,  that  so   far   from  this  being  the   case  there 
would  be   new  matter  for  praising  God,  inasmuch  as  His 
name  would  be  worshipped  by  all  nations,  and  the  Church 
would  consist  not  of  one  nation  only,  but  of  the  whole  world. 
This  we  know  has  been  fulfilled  under  the  administration  of 
Christ,  as  was  announced  in  prophecy  by  the  holy  patriarch, 
"  The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver 
from  between  his  feet,  until  Shiloh  come  ;  and  unio  him  shall 
the  gathering  of  the  Gentiles  Je,"  (Gen.  xlix.  10.)     But  as  the 
prophets  are  wont,  in  celebrating  the  deliverance  from  the 
Babylonish  captivity,  to  extend  it  to  the  coming  of  Christ, 
the  inspired  bard  in  this  place  does  not  lay  hold  on  merely  a 
part  of  the  subject,  but  carries  forward  the  grace  of  God,  even  to 
its  consummation.     And  although  it  was  not  necessary  that  all 
who  were  converted  to  Christ  should  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  yet 
following  the  manner  of  expression  usual  with  the  prophets, 
he  has  laid  down  the  observance  of  the  divine  worship  which 
was  appointed  under  the  law,  as  a  mark  of  true  godliness. 
Farther,  we  may  learn  from  this  passage,  that  the  name  of 
God  is  never  better  celebrated  than  when  true  religion  is  ex- 
tensively propagated,  and  when  the  Church  increases,  which 
on  that  account  is  called,  "  The  planting  of  the  Lord,  that  he 
might  be  glorified,"  (Isa.  Ixi.  3.) 

23.  He  hath  afflicted  my  strength  in  the  way  ;  and  shortened  my 

days. 

24.  /  said,  O  my  God !  cut  me  not  off  in  the  midst  of  my  days  : 

for^  thy  years  are  from  generation  to  generation. 

25.  Thou  hast  aforetime  founded  the  earth  ;  and  the  heavens  are 

the  work  of  thy  hands. 

26.  They  shall  perish,  hut  thou  shalt  endure :  and  all  of  them 

shall  v:ax  old  like  a  garment ;  as  a  vesture  shalt  thou  change 
them,  and  they  shall  he  changed  : 

\  "  Car.''^ — Fr.    This  supplement  is  not  in  the  Latin  version. 


I'SALM  ClI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  119 

27.  But  thou  art  the  same,'^  and  thy  years  shall  not  fail.^ 

28.  The  children  of  thy  servants  shall  dwell,  and  their  seed  shall 

he  established  before  thee. 

23.  He  hath  afflicted  my  strength  in  the  way.  Some  impro- 
perly restrict  this  complaint  to  the  time  when  the  Jews  were 
subjected  to  much  annoyance  after  the  liberty  granted  them 
to  return  to  their  own  land.  We  are  rather  to  understand 
the  word  journey  or  way  in  a  metaphorical  sense.  As  the 
manifestation  of  Christ  was  the  goal  of  the  race  which  God's 
ancient  people  were  running,  they  justly  complain  that  they 
are  afflicted  and  weakened  in  the  midst  of  their  course.' 
Thus  they  set  before  God  his  promise,  telling  him,  that  al- 
though they  had  not  run  at  random,  but  had  confided  in  his 
protection,  they  were  nevertheless  broken  and  crushed  by  his 
hand  in  the  midst  of  their  journey.  They  do  not  indeed  find 
fault  with  him,  as  if  he  had  disappointed  their  hope ;  but 
fully  persuaded,  that  he  does  not  deal  deceitfully  with 
those  who  serve  him,  by  this  complaint  they  strengthen  them- 

'  The  original  word  for  the  same  is  XIH)  hua^  literally  He, — "  But  thou 
art  He  ;"  that  is,  <^e  Eternal  ;  necessarily  eternal ;  and,  consequently, 
unchangeable  and  imperishable.  "  The  Hebrew  word  appears  to  be  one 
of  the  divine  names,  as  if  it  were  said,  '  He  who  hath  permanent  exist- 
ence, who  exists  eminently.'  Lowth  observes,  that  it  is  often  equiva- 
lent to  the  true  and  eternal  God ;  and  that  the  phrase  in  this  place  ex- 
presses God's  eternal  and  unchangeable  nature." — Mant. 

2  This  and  the  two  preceding  verses  are  applied  by  the  Apostle  Paul 
to  Christ  in  Heb.  i.  10,  11,  12,  in  proof  of  his  superiority  to  angels.  In 
this  passage  then,  Christ,  it  would  appear,  is  the  person  addressed ;  for 
if  the  apostle's  inspiration  is  admitted,  the  correctness  of  his  interpretation 
of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  cannot  be  doubted.  Inappropriate  ap- 
plications of  them,  it  is  evident,  would  be  inconsistent  with  his  having 
spoken  under  the  infallible  guidance  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  And  if  these 
verses  are  applicable  to  the  Saviour  of  men,  they  contain  an  irrefi'a- 
gable  proof  of  his  essential  divinity.  He  is  called  Jehovah  throughout 
the  psalm,  a  name  peculiar  to  God  only  ;  the  creation  of  all  things  is  said 
to  be  performed  by  him,  a  work  peculiar  to  God  only  ;  eternity  and  im- 
mutability are  ascribed  to  him,  attributes  Avhich  in  the  strict  and  absolute 
sense  belong  exclusively  to  God. 

'  Way  ox  journey  is  a  term  often  used  in  Scripture  to  denote  the  course 
of  a  man's  life ;  and  here  the  Psalmist  speaks,  as  other  sacred  writers 
not  unfrequently  do,  of  the  whole  Jewish  nation  as  if  it  were  one  man, 
and  of  its  continuance,  which  was  to  be  until  the  coming  of  Christ,  as  if 
the  life  of  one  man.  It  was  now,  so  to  speak,  only  in  its  meridian.  An 
attention  to  this  remark  will  assist  the  reader  in  understanding  Calvin's 
exposition  of  the  passage. 


120  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CII. 

selves  in  the  hope  of  a  favourable  issue.  In  the  same  sense 
they  add,  that  their  days  were  shortened,  because  they  directed 
their  view  to  the  fulness  of  time,  which  did  not  arrive  till 
Christ  was  revealed.*  It  accordingly  follows, — (verse  24,) 
Cut  me  not  off  in  the  midst  of  m.y  days.  They  compare  the  in- 
tervening period  until  Christ  should  appear  to  the  middle  of 
life ;  for,  as  has  been  already  observed,  the  Church  only  at- 
tained to  her  perfect  age  at  his  coming.  This  calamity,  no 
doubt,  had  been  foretold,  but  the  nature  of  the  covenant 
which  God  had  entered  into  with  his  ancient  people  required 
that  he  should  take  them  under  his  protection,  and  defend 
them.  The  captivity,  therefore,  was  as  it  were  a  violent 
rupture,  on  which  account  the  godly  prayed  with  the  greater 
confidence,  that  they  might  not  be  prematurely  taken  away 
in  the  midst  of  their  journey.  By  speaking  in  this  manner, 
they  did  not  fix  for  themselves  a  certain  term  of  life ;  but 
as  God,  in  freely  adopting  them,  had  given  them  the  com- 
mencement of  life,  with  the  assurance  that  he  would  main- 
tain them  even  to  the  advent  of  Christ,  they  might  warrant- 
ably  bring  forward  and  plead  this  promise.  Lord,  as  if  they 
had  said,  thou  hast  promised  us  life,  not  for  a  few  days,  or  for 
a  month  or  for  a  few  years,  but  until  thou  should st  renew  the 
whole  world,  and  gather  together  all  nations  under  the  do- 
minion of  thine  Anointed  One. 

What  then  does  the  prophet  mean  when  he  prays,  Let  us 
not  perish  in  the  midst  of  our  course  ?  ^  The  reason  stated  in 
the  clause  immediately  following.  Thy  years  are  from  genera- 
tion to  generation,  seems  to  be  quite  inapplicable  in  the  pre- 

'  Consequently,  the  ruin  and  desolation  to  which  they  seemed  given 
up  by  the  Babylonish  captivity,  was  like  the  cutting  oflf  or  shortening  of 
their  days. 

2  "  Possibly  the  Psalmist  (whom  some  learned  interpreters  suppose  to 
be  Daniel)  may  have  respect  to  that  prophecy,  Dan.  ix.  24,  25,  which 
probably  was  published  before  this  time  ;  for  this  time  was  almost  pre- 
cisely the  midst  of  the  days  between  the  building  of  the  material  temple 
by  Solomon,  and  the  building  of  the  spiritual  temple,  or  the  Church,  by 
the  Messias  ;  there  being  about  a  thousand  years  distance  between  these 
two  periods,  whereof  seventy  prophetical  weeks,  or  four  hundred  and 
ninety  years,  were  yet  to  come.  And  so  he  prays  that  God  would  not 
root  them  out  of  this  Babylonish  captivity,  but  would  graciously  restore 
them  to  their  own  land,  and  preserve  them  as  a  Church  and  nation  there, 
until  the  coming  of  the  Messias." — Poolers  Annotalioiis. 


PSALM  CII.  THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  121 

sent  case.  Because  God  is  everlasting,  does  it  therefore  fol- 
low that  men  will  be  everlasting  too  ?  But  on  Psalm  xc.  2, 
we  have  shown  how  we  may  with  propriety  bring  forward  his 
eternity,  as  a  ground  of  confidence  in  reference  to  our  salva- 
tion ;  for  he  desires  to  be  known  as  eternal,  not  only  in  his 
mysterious  and  incomprehensible  essence,  but  also  in  his 
word,  according  to  the  declaration  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah, 
(chap.  xl.  6-8,)  "  All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  goodliness 
thereof  is  as  the  flower  of  the  field ;  but  the  word  of  our  God 
shall  stand  for  ever."  Now  since  God  links  us  to  himself  by 
means  of  his  word,  however  great  the  distance  of  our  frail 
condition  from  his  heavenly  glory,  our  faith  should  neverthe- 
less penetrate  to  that  blessed  state  from  which  he  looks  down 
upon  our  miseries.  Although  the  comparison  between  his 
eternal  existence  and  the  brief  duration  of  human  life  is  in- 
troduced also  for  another  purpose,  yet  when  he  sees  that 
men  pass  away  as  it  were  in  a  moment,  and  speedily  evanish, 
it  moves  him  to  compassion,  as  shall  presently  be  declared  at 
greater  length. 

25.  Thou  hast  aforetime  foundedthe  earth.  Here  the  sacred 
writer  amplifies  what  he  had  previously  stated,  declaring, 
that  compared  with  God  the  whole  world  is  a  form  which 
quickly  vanishes  away ;  and  yet  a  little  after  he  represents 
the  Church  as  exempted  from  this  the  common  lot  of  all  sub- 
lunary things,  because  she  has  for  her  foundation  the  word 
of  God,  while  her  safety  is  secured  by  the  same  word.  Two 
subjects  are  therefore  here  brought  under  our  consideration. 
The  first  is,  that  since  the  heavens  themselves  are  in  the 
sight  of  God  almost  as  evanescent  as  smoke,  the  frailty  of 
the  whole  human  race  is  such  as  may  well  excite  his  com- 
passion ;  and  the  second  is,  that  although  there  is  no  stability 
in  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  yet  the  Church  shall  continue 
stedfast  for  ever,  because  she  is  upheld  by  the  eternal  truth 
of  God.  By  the  first  of  these  positions,  true  believers  are 
taught  to  consider  with  all  humility,  when  they  come  into  the 
divine  presence,  how  frail  and  transitory  their  condition  is, 
that  they  may  bring  nothing  with  them  but  their  own  emp- 
tiness.    Such  self-abasement  is  the  first  step  to  our  obtaining 


122  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CII. 

favour  in  tlie  sight  of  God,  even  as  He  also  affirms  that  he  is 
moved  by  the  sight  of  our  miseries  to  be  merciful  to  us.  The 
comparison  taken  from  the  heavens  is  a  very  happy  illustra- 
tion ;  for  how  long  have  they  continued  to  exist,  when  con- 
trasted with  the  brief  span  of  human  life,  which  passes  or 
rather  flies  away  so  swiftly  ?  How  many  generations  of  men 
have  passed  away  since  the  creation,  while  the  heavens  still 
continue  as  they  were  amidst  this  continual  fluctuation? 
Again,  so  beautiful  is  their  arrangement,  and  so  excellent  their 
frame- Avork,  that  the  whole  fabric  proclaims  itself  to  be  the  pro- 
duct of  God's  hands}  And  yet  neither  the  long  period  during 
which  the  heavens  have  existed,  nor  their  fair  embellishment,  will 
exempt  them  from  perishing.  What  then  shall  become  of  us  poor 
mortals,  who  die  when  we  are  as  yet  scarcely  born  ?  for  there 
is  no  part  of  our  life  which  does  not  rapidly  hasten  to  death. 
Interpreters,  however,  do  not  all  explain  these  words,  Tlie 
heavens  shall  perish,  in  the  same  way.  Some  understand  them 
as  expressing  simply  the  change  they  shall  undergo,  which 
will  be  a  species  of  destruction  ;  for  although  they  are  not  to 
be  reduced  to  nothing,  yet  this  change  of  their  nature,  as  it 
may  be  termed,  will  destroy  what  is  mortal  and  corruptible 
in  them,  so  that  they  shall  become,  in  a  manner,  different  and 
new  heavens.  Others  explain  the  words  conditionally,  and 
make  the  supplement,  "  If  it  so  please  God,"  regarding  it  as 
a  thing  absurd  to  say  that  the  heavens  are  subject  to  corrup- 
tion. But  first,  there  is  no  necessity  for  introducing  these 
supplementary  words,  which  obscure  the  sense  instead  of 
making  it  plainer.  In  the  next  place,  these  expositors 
improperly  attribute  an  immortal  state  to  the  heavens,  of 
which  Paul  declares  that  they  "  groan  and  travail  in  pain," 
like  the  earth  and  the  other  creatures,  until  the  day  of 
redemption,  (Rom.  viii.  22,)  because  they  are  subject  to 
corruption  ;  not  indeed  willingly,  or  in  their  own  nature,  but 
because  man,  by  precipitating  himself  headlong  into  destruc- 
tion, has  drawn  the  whole  world  into  a  participation  of  the 

^  "  The  phrase  is  borrowed  from  the  fact,  that  hands  are  the  instru- 
ments by  which  men  usually  perform  any  operation ;  and  tliis  is,  like 
other  human  operations  and  affections,  figuratively  transferred  to  God." — 
Stuart  on  Heb.  i.  10. 


PSALM  CII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  123 

same  ruin.  Two  things  are  to  be  here  attended  to ;  first, 
that  the  heavens  are  actually  subject  to  corruption  in  con- 
sequence of  the  fall  of  man  ;  and,  secondly,  that  they  shall  be 
so  renewed  as  to  warrant  the  prophet  to  say  that  they  shall 
perish ;  for  this  renovation  will  be  so  complete  that  they  shall 
not  be  the  same  but  other  heavens.  The  amount  is,  that  to 
whatever  quarter  we  turn  our  eyes,  we  will  see  everywhere 
nothing  but  ground  for  despair  till  we  come  to  God.  What 
is  there  in  us  but  rottenness  and  corruption  ?  and  what  else 
are  we  but  a  mirror  of  death  ?  Again,  what  are  the  changes 
which  the  whole  world  undergoes  but  a  kind  of  presage,  yea 
a  prelude  of  destruction  ?  If  the  whole  frame-work  of  the 
world  is  hastening  to  its  end,  what  will  become  of  the  human 
race  ?  If  all  nations  are  doomed  to  perish,  what  stability  will 
there  be  in  men  individually  considered  ?  We  ought  there- 
fore to  seek  stability  no  where  else  but  in  God. 

28.  The  children  of  thy  servants  shall  dwell.  By  these  words 
the  prophet  intimates  that  he  does  not  ask  the  preservation 
of  the  Church,  because  it  is  a  part  of  the  human  race,  but 
because  God  has  raised  it  above  the  revolutions  of  the  world. 
And  undoubtedly,  when  He  adopted  us  as  his  children,  his 
design  was  to  cherish  us  as  it  wxre  in  his  own  bosom.  The 
inference  of  the  inspired  bard  is  not,  therefore,  far-fetched, 
when,  amidst  innumerable  storms,  each  of  which  might  carry 
us  away,  he  hopes  that  the  Church  will  have  a  permanent 
existence.  It  is  true,  that  when  through  our  own  fault  we 
become  estranged  from  God,  we  are  also  as  it  were  cut  off 
from  the  fountain  of  life ;  but  no  sooner  are  we  reconciled  to 
Ilim  than  he  begins  again  to  pour  down  his  blessings  upon 
us.  Whence  it  follows  that  true  believers,  as  they  are 
regenerated  by  the  incorruptible  seed,  shall  continue  to  live 
after  death,  because  God  continues  unchangeably  the  same. 
By  the  word  dwell,  is  to  be  understood  an  abiding  and  ever- 
lasting inheritance^ 

When  it  is  said  that  the  seed  of  God's  servants  shall  be 
established  before  his  face,  the  meaning  is,  that  it  is  not  after 
the  manner  of  the  world,  or  according  to  the  way  in  which 
the  heavens  and  the  earth  are  established,  that  the  salvation 


124  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  GUI. 

of  true  believers  is  made  stedfast,  but  because  of  the  holy 
union  which  exists  between  them  and  God.  By  the  seed  and 
children  of  the  godly,  is  to  be  understood  not  aU  their 
descendants  without  exception — for  many  who  spring  from 
them  according  to  the  flesh  become  degenerate — but  those 
who  do  not  turn  aside  from  the  faith  of  their  parents. 
Successive  generations  are  expressly,  pointed  out,  because 
the  covenant  extends  even  to  future  ages,  aa  we  shall  again 
find  in  the  subsequent  psalm.  If  we  firmly  keep  the  treasure 
of  life  intrusted  to  us,  let  us  not  hesitate,  although  we  may 
be  environed  with  innumerable  deaths,  to  cast  the  anchor  of 
our  faith  in  heaven,  that  the  stability  of  our  welfare  may  rest 
in  God. 


PSALM  cm. 

By  this  psalm  every  godly  man  is  taught  to  give  thanks  to  God  for 
the  mercies  bestowed  upon  himself  in  particular,  and  then  for  the  gi'ace 
which  God  has  vouchsafed  to  all  his  chosen  ones  in  common,  by  making 
a  covenant  of  salvation  with  them  in  his  law,  that  he  might  make 
them  partakers  of  his  adoption.  But  the  Psalmist  chiefly  magnifies 
the  mercy  by  which  God  sustains  and  bears  with  his  people ;  and  that 
not  on  account  of  any  merit  or  worth  of  theirs,  for  they  only  deserve 
to  be  visited  with  severe  punishment,  but  because  he  compassionates 
their  fi-ailty.  The  psalm  is  at  length  concluded  with  a  general  ascrip- 
tion of  praise  to  God. 

t  A  Psalm  of  David.l 

1.  Bless  Jehovah,  0  my  soul  I  and  all  my  imoard  parts,  bless  his 
holy  name. 

'  The  author  of  this  beautiful  and  affecting  psalm  was  David ;  but  the 
time  and  occasion  of  its  composition  are  uncertain.  Some  are  of  opinion 
that  it  is  a  song  of  gratitude  for  David's  recovery  from  some  dangerous 
sickness.  Others  think  it  was  written  upon  his  receiving  assurance  that 
his  great  sin  in  the  case  of  Bathsheba  and  Uriah  was  forgiven.  "  I  am 
not  prepared  to  say,"  observes  Walford,  "  that  this  judgment  is  certainly 


PSALM  cm.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  125 

2.  Bless  Jehovah,  0  my  soul !  and  forget  not  any  of  his  benefits  : 

3.  Who  forgiveth  all  thine  iniquities  ;  who  healeth  all  thy  diseases ; 

4.  Who  redeemeth  thy  life  from  the  grate  ;  who  crowneth}  thee 

with  mercy  and  compassions  ; 

5.  Who  satisfieth  [or  filleth^   thy  mouth  tvith  good  :  thy  youth 

shall  be  renewed  as  the  eagle's.^ 

1.  Bless  Jehovah,  O  my  soul!  The  prophet,  ty  stirring  up 
himself  to  gratitude,  gives  by  his  own  example  a  lesson  to 
every  man  of  the  duty  incumbent  upon  him.  And  doubtless 
our  slothfulness  in  this  matter  has  need  of  continual  incite- 
ment. If  even  the  prophet,  who  was  inflamed  with  a  more 
intense  and  fervent  zeal  than  other  men,  was  not  free  from 
this  malady,  of  which  his  earnestness  in  stimulating  himself  is 
a  plain  confession,  how  much  more  necessary  is  it  for  us,  who 
have  abundant  experience  of  our  own  torpor,  to  apply  the 
same  means  for  our  quickening  ?  The  Holy  Spirit,  by  his 
mouth,  indirectly  upbraids  us  on  account  of  our  not  being 
more  diligent  in  praising  God,  and  at  the  same  time  points 
out  the  remedy,  that  every  man  may  descend  into  himself 


correct ;  but  as  it  is  a  subject  of  no  great  moment,  am  willing  to  acquiesce 
in  it.  If  it  be  correct,  then  we  have  two  of  the  most  instructive  examples 
of  enlightened  and  fervent  piety,  which  are  contained  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, occasioned  by  one  failure  in  the  conduct  of  a  good  man,  who  was 
habitually  remarkable  for  his  stedfast  obedience  to  the  laws  of  God.  The 
one  of  these  examples  is  in  Psalm  li.,  in  which  the  sacred  writer  records 
his  deep  and  humble  penitence  :  and  the  other,  which  is  now  before  us, 
displays  the  feelings  of  sacred  joy  and  thankfulness,  in  terms  that 
are  most  delightful  and  consolatory.  So  admirably  adapted  are  these  two 
psalms  to  the  varied  sentiments  and  emotions  of  Christian  feeling,  that  I 
can  scarcely  suppose  any  real  believer  of  the  gospel  is  to  be  found  who 
has  not,  on  multiplied  occasions,  made  them  the  objects  of  his  attentive 
meditation,  so  as  to  have,  if  not  the  express  words,  yet  the  sense  of 
them,  engi'aven  on  his  heart  and  memory,  in  characters  never  to  be 
eflfaced  but  by  death." 

'  "  Ou,  enviiTone." — Fr.  marg.  "  Or,  surroundeth." 

^  Walford's  rendering  of  this  verse  is  as  follows  : — 

"  Who  satisfieth  thy  advancing  age  with  good  ; 
Thy  youth  is  renewed  as  the  eagle's." 

In  defence  of  reading  "  thy  advancing  age"  instead  of  "  thy  mouth,  '  as  it 
is  in  our  English  translation,  and  as  Calvin  has  it,  he  observes,  "The 
version  here  adopted  is  that  of  the  Chaldee,  and  ia  supported  by  the 
parallelism  in  the  following  clause." 


126  COMMENTAliY  UPON  PSALM  CIII. 

and  correct  his  own  sluggishness.  Not  content  with  calling 
upon  his  soul  (by  which  he  unquestionably  means  the  seat  of 
the  understanding  and  affections)  to  bless  God,  the  prophet 
expressly  adds  his  inward  parts,  addressing  as  it  were  his  own 
mind  and  heart,  and  all  the  faculties  of  both.  When  he  thus 
speaks  to  himself,  it  is  as  if,  removed  from  the  presence  of 
men,  he  examined  himself  before  God.  The  repetition 
renders  his  language  still  more  emphatic,  as  if  he  thereby 
intended  to  reprove  his  own  slothfulness. 

2.  And  forget  not  any  of  his  benefits.  Here  he  instructs  us 
that  God  is  not  deficient  on  his  part  in  furnishing  us  with 
abundant  matter  for  praising  him.  It  is  our  own  ingratitude 
which  hinders  us  from  eno-asins:  in  this  exercise.  In  the 
first  place,  he  teaches  us  that  the  reason  why  God  deals 
with  such  liberality  towards  us  is,  that  we  may  be  led  to 
celebrate  his  praise ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  condemns  our 
inconstancy,  which  hurries  us  away  to  any  other  object 
rather  than  to  God.  How  is  it  that  we  are  so  listless  and 
drowsy  in  the  performance  of  this  the  chief  exercise  of  true 
religion,  if  it  is  not  because  our  shameful  and  wicked  forget- 
fulness  buries  in  our  hearts  the  innumerable  benefits  of  God, 
which  are  openly  manifest  to  heaven  and  earth  ?  Did  wc 
only  retain  the  remembrance  of  them,  the  prophet  assures 
us  that  we  would  be  suflSciently  inclined  to  perform  our  duty, 
since  the  sole  prohibition  which  he  lays  upon  us  is,  not  to 
forget  them. 

3.  Whoforgiveth  all  thy  iniquities.  He  now  enumerates  the 
different  kinds  of  the  divine  benefits,  in  considering  which  he 
has  told  us  that  we  are  too  forgetful  and  slothful.  It  is  not 
without  cause  that  he  begins  with  God's  pardoning  mercy, 
for  reconciliation  with  him  is  the  fountain  from  which  all 
other  blessings  flow.  God's  goodness  extends  even  to  the 
ungodly  ;  but  they  are,  notwithstanding,  so  far  from  having 
the  enjoyment  of  it,  that  they  do  not  even  taste  it.  The 
first  then  of  all  the  blessings  of  which  we  have  the  true  and 
substantial  enjoyment,  is  that  which  consists  in  God's  freely 
pardoning  and  blotting  out  our  sins,  and  receiving  us  into  his 


PSALM  cm.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  127 

favour.  Ye.a,  rather  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  since  It  is 
accompanied  with  our  restoration  to  the  favour  of  God,  also 
sanctifies  whatever  good  things  he  bestows  upon  us,  that  they 
may  contribute  to  our  welfare.  The  second  clause  is  either 
a  repetition  of  the  same  sentiment,  or  else  it  opens  up  a 
wider  view  of  it ;  for  the  consequence  of  free  forgiveness  is, 
that  God  governs  us  by  his  Spirit,  mortifies  the  lusts  of  our 
flesh,  cleanses  us  from  our  corruptions,  and  restores  us  to  the 
healthy  condition  of  a  godly  and  an  upright  life.  Those  who 
understand  the  words,  who  healeth  all  thy  diseases,  as  referring 
to  the  diseases  of  the  body,  and  as  implying  that  God,  when 
he  has  forgiven  our  sins,  also  delivers  us  from  bodily  maladies, 
seem  to  put  upon  them  a  meaning  too  restricted.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  the  medicine  spoken  of  has  a  respect  to  the  blot- 
ting out  of  guilt;  and,  secondly,  to  the  curing  us  of  the 
corruptions  inherent  in  our  nature,  which  is  effected  by  the 
Spirit  of  regeneration  ;  and  if  any  one  will  add  as  a  third 
particular  included,  that  God  being  once  pacified  towards  us, 
also  remits  the  punishment  which  we  deserve,  I  will  not 
object.  Let  us  learn  from  this  passage  that,  until  the 
heavenly  Physician  succour  us,  we  nourish  within  us,  not 
only  many  diseases,  but  even  many  deaths. 

4.  Who  redeemeth  thy  life  from  the  grave.  The  Psalmist 
expresses  more  plainly  what  our  condition  Is  previous  to 
God's  curing  our  maladies — that  we  are  dead  and  adjudged 
to  the  grave.  The  consideration  that  the  mercy  of  God 
delivers  us  from  death  and  destruction  ought,  therefore,  to 
lead  us  to  prize  it  the  more  highly.  If  the  resurrection  of 
the  soul  from  the  grave  Is  the  first  step  of  spu'itual  life,  what 
room  for  self-gloriatlon  Is  left  to  man  ?  The  prophet  next 
teaches  us  that  the  incomparable  grace  of  God  shines  forth 
in  the  very  commencement  of  our  salvation,  as  well  as  In  Its 
whole  pi'ogress  ;  and  the  more  to  enhance  the  commendation 
of  this  grace,  he  adds  the  word  compassions  In  the  plural  num- 
ber. He  asserts  that  we  are  surrounded  with  them  ;  as  If  he  had 
said.  Before,  behind,  on  all  sides,  above  and  beneath,  the  grace 
of  God  presents  Itself  to  us  in  Immeasurable  abundance ;  so 
that  there  is  no  place  devoid  of  it.     The  same  truth  he  after- 


128  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  Clll. 

wards  amplifies  in  these  words,  thy  mouth  is  satisfied,  by  which 
metaphor  he  alludes  to  the  free  indulgence  of  the  palate,  to 
which  we  surrender  ourselves  when  we  have  a  well-furnished 
table ;  for  those  who  have  scanty  fare  dare  scarcely  eat  till 
they  are  half  satisfied.^  Not  that  he  approves  of  gluttony  in 
greedily  devouring  God's  benefits,  as  men  give  loose  reins 
to  intemperance  whenever  they  have  great  abundance ;  but 
he  borrowed  this  phraseology  from  the  common  custom  of 
men,  to  teach  us  that  whatever  good  things  our  hearts  can 
wish  flow  to  us  from  God's  bounty,  even  to  perfect  satis- 
faction. Those  who  take  the  Hebrew  word  ^^y,  adi,  for 
ornament,^  mar  the  passage  by  a  mere  conceit  of  their  own ; 
and  I  am  surprised  how  so  groundless  an  imagination  should 
have  come  into  their  minds,  unless  it  may  be  accounted  for 
from  the  circumstance  that  it  is  usual  for  men  of  a  prying  or 
inquisitive  turn  of  mind,  when  they  would  show  their  inge- 
nuity, to  bring  forward  mere  puerilities.  The  Psalmist  next 
adds,  that  God  was  constantly  infusing  into  him  new  vigour, 
so  that  his  strength  continued  unimpaired,  even  as  the  Pro- 
phet Isaiah,  (chap.  Ixv.  20,)  in  discoursing  on  the  restoration 
of  the  Church,  says  that  a  man  of  a  hundred  years  old  shall 
be  like  a  child.  By  this  mode  of  expression,  he  intimates 
that  God,  along  Avith  a  very  abundant  supply  of  all  good 
things,  communicates  to  him  also  inward  vigour,  that  he  may 
enjoy  them  ;  and  thus  his  strength  Avas  as  it  were  continually 
renewed.     From  the  comparison  of  the  eagle,  the  Jews  have 

'  "  A  grand'  peine  osent-ils  manger  a  demileiir  saoul." — Fr. 

»  "  Abu  Walid  mentions  two  interpretations  :  1.  That  of  onr  English 
translators  ;  2.  That  which  takes  yy^  in  the  sense  of  ornament,  '  who 
multiplieth  thy  adorning  with  good,'  i.  e.,  '  who  abundantly  adorneth 
thee  with  good.'  Aben  Ezra  approves  the  notion  of  ornament,  but 
applies  it  to  the  soul,  the  ornament  of  the  body,  i.  e.,  'who  satisfieth  thy 
soul  with  good.' " — Hammond.  The  Septuagint  reads,  i'^rtdvfA.ixv  vov, 
"  thy  desire,"  or  "  sensitive  appetite,"  the  satisfying  of  which  is  the 
providing  for  the  body  all  the  good  things  it  stands  in  need  of,  and  thus 
it  is  equivalent  to  "satisfying,"  or  "filling  the  mouth,"  the  organ  for 
conveying  nourishment  to  the  body.  Kimchi  understands  the  phrase  as 
expressing  David's  recovery  from  sickness.  In  sickness  the  soul 
abhoiTeth  bread,  and  even  dainty  meat.  Job  xxxiii.  20.  The  physician, 
too,  limits  the  diet  of  the  patient,  and  prescribes  things  which  are 
nauseous  to  the  palate.  This  commentator,  therefore,  supposes  that 
David  here  describes  the  blessing  of  health,  by  hi^  mouth  being  filled  with 
good  things. 


PSALM  cm.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  129 

taken  occasion  to  invent,  for  the  purpose  of  explanation,  a 
fabulous  story.  Although  they  know  not  even  the  first 
elements  of  any  science,  yet  so  presumptuous  are  they,  that 
whatever  may  be  the  matter  treated  of,  they  never  hesitate  to 
attempt  to  explain  it,  and  whenever  they  meet  with  any 
thing  which  they  do  not  understand,  there  is  no  figment  so 
foolish  that  they  do  not  bring  forward,  as  if  it  were  an 
oracle  of  God.  Thus,  for  expounding  the  present  passage, 
they  give  out  that  eagles,  every  tenth  year,  ascend  to  the 
elemental  fire,  that  their  feathers  may  be  burnt,^  and  that 
then  they  plunge  themselves  into  the  sea,  and  immediately 
new  feathers  grow  upon  them.  But  we  may  easily  gather 
the  simple  meaning  of  the  Prophet  from  the  nature  of  the 
eagle,  as  described  by  philosophers,  and  which  is  well-known 
from  observation.  That  bird  continues  fresh  and  vigorous, 
even  to  extreme  old  age,  unenfeebled  by  years,  and  exempt 
from  disease,  until  it  finally  dies  of  hunger.  That  it  is  long- 
lived  is  certain  ;  but  at  last,  its  beak  or  bill  grows  so  great  that 
it  cannot  any  longer  take  food,  and,  consequently,  is  forced  to 
suck  blood,  or  to  nourish  itself  by  drinking.  Plence  the  ancient 
proverb  in  reference  to  old  men  who  are  addicted  to  drinking, 
The  eagleh  old  age;  for  necessity  then  constrains  eagles 
to  drink  much.  But  as  drink  alone  is  insufficient  to  maintain 
life,  they  die  rather  through  hunger,  than  fail  by  the  natural 
decay  of  strength.^     Now  we  perceive,  without  the  help  of 


'    ^  "  Afin  que  leurs  plumes  soyent  bruslees." — Fr. 

2  Wliat  Calvin  here  asserts  of  the  eagle  has  as  little  foundation  in  truth 
as  the  Jewish  fiction  which  he  justly  discards.  Augustine's  explanation  of 
the  renewal  of  the  youth  of  the  eagle  is  equally  fabulous.  He  atSrms  that 
in  its  old  age  its  beak  grows  out  so  long,  and  becomes  so  incurvated,  as  to 
hinder  it  from  taking  food,  thus  endangering  its  life,  but  that  it  re- 
moves the  excrescence,  by  striking  its  beak  against  a  stone,  sa  that  it 
is  enabled  to  take  its  ordinary  food,  and  becomes  young  again.  \"  There 
are,"  says  Dr  Adam  Clarke,  ''as  many  legends  of  the  eagle  among  the 
ancient  writers  as  there  are  in  the  Kalendar  of  some  saints,  and  all 
equally  true?)  Even  among  modern  divines,  Bible-Dictionary  men,  and 
such  like,  the  most  ridiculous  tales  concerning  this  bird  continue  to  be 
propagated  ;  and  no  small  portion  of  them  have  been  crowded  into  com- 
ments on  this  very  verse."  Of  these  "  legends  of  the  eagle,"  the  accounts 
given  of  it  by  the  Jewish  commentators,  by  Calvin  himself,  and  by 
Augustine,  are  a,/specimen  ;  for  they  are  altogether  unsupported  from  its 
natural  history. ',  The  Psalmist,  in  speaking  of  the  renewing  of  its  youth, 
we  conceive  refers  simply  to  the  changing  of  its  feathers.     Like  all  other 

VOL.  IV.  I 


130  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CHI. 

any  invented  story,  the  genuine  meaning  of  the  Prophet  to 
be,  that  as  eagles  always  retain  their  vigour,  and  even  in 
their  old  age  are  still  youthful,  so  the  godly  are  sustained 
by  a  secret  influence  derived  from  God,  by  which  they  con- 
tinue in  the  possession  of  unimpaired  strength.  They  are 
not  always,  it  is  true,  full  of  bodily  vigour  while  in  this 
world,  but  rather  painfully  drag  on  their  lives  in  continual 
weakness  ;  still  what  is  here  said  applies  to  them  in  a  certain 
sense.  This  unquestionably  is  common  to  all  in  general,  that 
they  have  been  brought  out  of  the  grave,  and  have  experienced 
God  to  be  bountiful  to  them  in  innumerable  ways.  Were 
each  of  them  duly  to  reflect  how  much  he  is  indebted  to 
God,  he  would  say  with  good  reason  that  his  mouth  is  Jilled 
with  good  thiiigs ;  just  as  David,  in  Ps.  xl.  5,  and  cxxxix.  18, 
confesses  that  he  was  unable  to  reckon  up  the  Divine  be- 
nefits, because  "  they  are  more  in  number  than  the  sands  of 
the  sea."  Did  not  our  own  perverseness  blind  our  under- 
standings, we  would  see  that,  even  in  famine,  we  are  fur- 
nished with  food  in  such  a  manner,  as  that  God  shows  us 
the  manifold  riches  of  his  goodness.  With  regard  to  the 
renovation  of  our  strength,  the  meaning  is,  that  since,  when 
our  outward  man  decays,  Ave  are  renewed  to  a  better  life, 
we  have  no  reason  to  be  troubled  at  the  giving  way  of  our 
strength,  especially  when  he  sustains  us  by  his  Spirit  under 
the  weakness  and  languishing  of  our  mortal  frames. 

birds,  the  eagle  has  its  annual  moulting  season,  in  -which  it  casts  its  old 
feathers,  and  is  fmniished  with  a  new  stock.  When  its  plumage  is  thus 
renewed,  its  appearance  becomes  more  youthful  and  beautiful,  Avhile,  at 
the  same  time,  its  vigour  and  liveliness  are  improved.  In  like  manner, 
by  the  communications  of  Divine  grace,  the  spiritual  beauty,  strength, 
and  activity  of  the  people  of  God  are  increased.  Although  any  other 
bird  Avould  have  served  the  Psalmist's  piu'pose,  yet  he  may  have  prefeiTed 
the  eagle,  not  only  because  it  is  the  king  of  birds,  superior  to  others  of 
the  feathered  tribe  in  size,  strength,  and  vivacity,  but  because  it  retains 
its  vigour  to  a  protracted  old  age,  and  presei-ves  Us  youthful  appearance 
to  the  last  by  the  ft-equent  change  of  its  plumage^  The  Prophet  Isaiah 
uses  the  same  allusion,  to  illustrate  the  persevwknce  of  the  saints  in 
holiness,  (chap.  xl.  31  :)  "  They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew 
their  strength  ;  they  shall  mount  up  Avith  wings  as  eagles."  The  eagle 
seems  to  have  borrowed  its  Hebrew  name  "yiy^,  nesker,  from  the  shedding 
of  its  plumage.  Its  root  is  the  Chaldee  verb  -|£>;j,  naskar,  decidit,  dejtuxit, 
he  fell,  he  shed.  "  The  name  agrees  with  -|>|j>>,  to  look  at,''  says  Bythner, 
"  because  the  eagle  can  look  at  the  sun  with  a  straight  and  steady  gaze  ; 
also  with  "it^H,  to  he  straight,  because  it  flies  in  a  straight  course." 


PSALM  Clir.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  131 

G.  Jehovah  executeth  righteousness  and  judgment  for  all  that  are 
oppressed. 

7.  He  made  known  his  toays  to  Moses,  his  doings  to  the  children 

of  Israel. 

8.  Jehovah  is  merciful  and  gracious,  slow  to  anger,  and  abundant 

in  goodness. 

6.  Jehovah  executeth  righteousness.  David  having  recounted 
the  Divine  benefits  bestowed  upon  himself,  now  passes  from 
this  personal  consideration  to  take  a  wider  view  of  the  sub- 
ject. There  is,  however,  no  doubt  that  when  he  declares 
God  to  be  the  succourer  of  the  oppressed,  he  includes  himself 
among  the  number,  for  he  had  enjoyed  the  Divine  help 
under  many  persecutions  ;  and,  from  his  own  experience,  he 
describes  the  character  in  which  God  is  accustomed  to  mani- 
fest himself  towards  all  who  are  unrighteously  afflicted.  As 
the  faithful,  while  in  this  world,  are  always  living  among 
wolves,  by  using  the  plural  number,  he  celebrates  a  variety 
of  deliverances,  to  teach  us  that  it  is  God's  ordinary  work 
to  succour  his  servants  whenever  he  sees  them  injuriously 
treated.  Hence  we  are  taught  to  exercise  patience  when  we 
find  that  God  takes  it  upon  him  to  avenge  our  wrongs,  and 
that  he  covers  us  with  the  shield  of  his  justice,  or  defends  us 
with  the  sword  of  his  judgment,  as  often  as  we  are  assaulted 
wrongfully. 

7.  He  hath  made  known  his  ways  to  Moses.  David  now 
speaks  in  the  name  of  the  chosen  people ;  and  this  he  does 
very  suitably,  being  led  to  it  by  the  consideration  of  the 
benefits  which  God  had  bestowed  upon  himself.  Convinced 
that  it  was  only  as  a  member  of  the  Church  that  he  had  been 
enriched  with  so  many  blessings,  he  immediately  carries  back 
his  contemplations  to  the  common  covenant  made  with  the 
people  of  Israel.  He,  however,  continues  the  same  train  of 
thought  as  in  the  preceding  verse  ;  for  these  ivays,  which  he 
says  had  been  shown  to  Moses,  were  nothing  else  than  the 
deliverance  wrought  for  the  people  until  they  entered  the 
promised  land.  He  selected  this  as  an  instance  of  God's 
righteousness  and  judgment,  surpassing  all  others,  to  prove 


132  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIII. 

that  God  always  shows  himself  righteous  In  succourino^ 
those  who  are  oppressed.  But  since  this  instance  depended 
upon  the  Divine  promise,  he  doubtless  has  an  eye  prin- 
cipally to  it ;  his  language  implying  that  God's  righteousness 
was  clearly  demonstrated  and  seen  in  the  history  of  the 
chosen  people,  whom  he  had  adopted,  and  with  whom  he  had 
entered  into  covenant.  God  is  said  to  have  made  known 
his  ways  first  to  Moses,  who  was  his  servant  and  messenger, 
and  afterwards  to  all  the  people.  Moses  is  here  represented 
as  invested  with  the  office  to  which  he  was  Divinely  ap- 
pointed ;  for  it  was  God's  will  to  be  made  known  to  the 
people  by  the  hand  and  working  of  that  distinguished  man. 
The  loays,  then,  and  the  doings  of  God,  are  his  rising  up  with 
wonderful  power  to  deliver  the  people,  his  leading  them 
through  the  Eed  Sea,  and  his  manifesting  his  presence  with 
them  by  many  signs  and  miracles.  But  as  all  this  flowed 
from  the  free  covenant,  David  exhorts  himself  and  others  to 
give  thanks  to  God  for  having  chosen  them  to  be  his  peculiar 
people,  and  for  enlightening  their  minds  by  the  truths  of  his 
law.  Man,  without  the  knowledge  of  God,  being  the  most 
miserable  object  that  can  be  imagined,  the  discovery  which 
God  has  been  pleased  to  make  to  us  in  his  Word,  of  his 
fatherly  love,  is  an  incomparable  treasure  of  perfect  happiness. 

8.  Jehovah  is  merciful  and  gracious.  David  seems  to  allude 
to  the  exclamation  of  Moses,  recorded  in  Exodus  xxxiv.  6, 
where  the  nature  of  God,  revealed  in  a  remarkable  way,  is 
more  clearly  described  than  in  other  places.  When  Moses 
was  admitted  to  take  a  nearer  view  of  the  Divine  glory 
than  was  usually  obtained,  he  exclaimed  upon  beholding  it, 
"  O  God !  merciful  and  gracious,  forgiving  iniquity,  slow  to 
wrath,  and  abundant  in  goodness."  As,  therefore,  he  has 
summarily  comprehended  in  that  passage  all  that  is  important 
for  us  to  know  concerning  the  Divine  character,  David  hap- 
pily applies  these  terms,  by  which  God  is  there  described,  to 
his  present  purpose.  His  design  is  to  ascribe  entirely  to  the 
goodness  of  God  the  fact  that  the  Israelites,  who  by  their 
own  wickedness  forfeited  from  time  to  time  their  relation  to 
Him,  as  his  adopted  people,  nevertheless  continued  in  that 


PSALM  cm,  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  133 

relation.  Farther,  we  must  underst.and  in  general,  that  the 
true  knowledge  of  God  corresponds  to  what  faith  discovers 
in  the  Avritten  Word ;  for  it  is  not  his  will  that  we  should 
search  into  his  secret  essence,  except  in  so  far  as  he  makes 
himself  known  to  us,  a  point  worthy  of  our  special  notice. 
We  see  that  whenever  God  is  mentioned,  the  minds  of  men 
are  perversely  carried  away  to  cold  speculations,  and  fix 
their  attention  on  things  which  can  profit  them  nothing; 
while,  in  the  meantime,  they  neglect  those  manifestations  of 
his  perfections  which  meet  our  eyes,  and  which  afford  a  vivid 
reflection  of  his  character.  To  whatever  subjects  men  apply 
their  minds,  there  is  none  from  which  they  will  derive  greater 
advantage  than  from  continual  meditation  on  his  wisdom, 
goodness,  righteousness,  and  mercy ;  and  especially  the  know- 
ledge of  his  goodness  is  fitted  both  to  build  up  our  faith,  and 
to  illustrate  his  praises.  Accordingly,  Paul,  in  Eph.  iii.  18, 
declares  that  our  height,  length,  breadth,  and  depth,  consists 
in  knowing  the  unspeakable  riches  of  grace,  which  have  been 
manifested  to  us  in  Christ.  This  also  is  the  reason  why 
David,  copying  from  Moses,  magnifies  by  a  variety  of  terms 
the  mercy  of  God.  In  the  first  place,  as  we  have  no  worse 
fault  than  that  devilish  arrogance  which  robs  God  of  his  due 
praise,  and  which  yet  is  so  deeply  rooted  in  us,  that  it  can- 
not be  easily  eradicated ;  God  rises  up,  and  that  he  may 
bring  to  nought  the  heaven-daring  presumption  of  the  flesh, 
asserts  in  lofty  terms  his  own  mercy,  by  which  alone  we 
stand.  Again,  when  we  ought  to  rely  upon  the  grace  of  God, 
our  minds  tremble  or  waver,  and  there  is  nothing  in  which  we 
find  greater  difficulty  than  to  acknowledge  that  He  is  merciful 
to  us.  David,  to  meet  and  overcome  this  doubting  state  of 
mind,  after  the  example  of  Moses,  employs  these  synonymous 
terms:  first,  that  God  is  merciful;  secondly,  that  he  is 
gracious ;  thirdly,  that  he  patiently  and  compassionately 
bears  with  the  sins  of  men ;  and,  lastly,  that  he  is  abundant 
in  mercy  and  goodness. 

9.  He  will  not  always  chide  :  nor  will  he  keep  his  anger  for  ever. 
10.  He  hath  not  dealt  with  us  after  our  sins  ;  nor  rewarded  us 
according  to  our  iniqtiities. 


134  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  GUI. 

11.  For  in  proportion  to  the  height  of  the  heavens  above  the 

earth  has  been  the  great?iess  of  his  goodness^  upon^  them 
that  fear  him. 

12.  As  far  as  the  east  is  from  the  west,  so  far  hath  he  removed 

our  transgressions  from  us. 

9.  He  will  not  always  chide.  David,  from  the  attributes 
ascribed  to  God  in  the  preceding  verse,  draws  the  conclusion, 
that  when  God  has  been  offended,  he  will  not  be  irreconcil- 
able, since,  from  his  nature,  he  is  always  inclined  to  forgive. 
It  was  necessary  to  add  this  statement ;  for  our  sins  would 
be  continually  shutting  the  gate  against  his  goodness  were 
there  not  some  way  of  appeasing  his  anger.  David  tacitly 
intimates  that  God  institutes  an  action  against  sinners  to  lay 
them  low  under  a  true  sense  of  their  guilt ;  and  that  yet  he 
recedes  from  it  whenever  he  sees  them  subdued  and  humbled. 
God  speaks  in  a  different  manner  in  Gen.  vi.  3,  where  he  says, 
"My  Spirit  shall  no  longer  strive  with  man,"  because  the  wicked- 
ness of  men  being  fully  proved,  it  was  then  time  to  condemn 
them.  But  here  David  maintains  that  God  will  not  always 
chide,  because  so  easy  is  he  to  be  reconciled,  and  so  ready 
to  pardon,  that  he  does  not  rigidly  exact  from  us  what  strict 
justice  might  demand.  To  the  same  purpose  is  the  language 
in  the  second  clause :  nor  will  he  keep  anger  for  ever.      The 

^  "  Ou,  il  a  magnifie  sa  bonte." — Fr.  marg.  "  Or,  he  hath  magnified 
his  goodness." 

2  Hammond  prefers  reading  above.  "  Though  'py,"  says  he,  "  signifies 
on  and  towards.,  as  well  as  above  or  over.,  and  may  be  fitly  so  rendered, 
verses  13  and  17,  where  (as  here)  God's  mercy  is  said  lo  be  ^y,  upon  his 
children.,  and  'py,  upon  them  that  fear  him  ;  yet  the  comparison  that  is 
here  made  between  the  heaveii  and  the  earth.,  and  the  height  or  excellence 
of  the  one  'py,  (not  upon.,  but)  above  the  other,  being  answered,  in  the  eivroe.  ■ 
xoBotr/f,  by  the  greatness  or  strength  (so  "i^J  signifies)  of  God's  mercy., 
VXT'  by  i  tli'it  phrase  must  by  analogy  be  rendered  above.,  not  upon,  or 
towards  them  that  fear  him.  And  then  the  meaning  must  needs  be  this, 
that  whatsoever  our  fear  or  obedience  to  God  be,  his  mercy  towards  us  is 
as  far  above  the  size  or  proportion  of  that,  as  the  heaven  is  above  t/ie  earth, 
i.  e.,  there  is  no  proportion  between  them  ;  the  one  is  as  a  point  to  that 
other  vast  circumference ;  nay,  the  difl'erence  far  greater,  as  God's  7nercy 
is  infinite,  like  himself,  and  so  infinitely  exceeding  the  pitiful  imperfect 
degree  of  our  obedience.  The  other  expression  that  follows  verse  12, 
taken  from  the  distance  of  the  East  from  the  West,  is  pitched  upon,  says 
Kimchi,  because  those  two  quarters  of  the  world  are  of  greatest  ex- 
tent, being  all  known  and  inhabited.  From  whence  it  is  that  geographers 
reckon  that  way  their  longitudes,  as  from  North  to  South  their  latitudes." 


PSALM  cm.        THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  ]35 

expression,  to  keep  anger  for  ever,  corresponds  with  the  French 
phrase,  Je  ltd  garde,  II  me  Va  garde^  which  we  use  when  the 
man,  who  cannot  forgive  the  injuries  he  has  received,  cher- 
ishes secret  revenge  in  his  heart,  and  waits  for  an  oppor- 
tunity of  retaHation.  Now  David  denies  that  God,  after  the 
manner  of  men,  keeps  anger  on  account  of  the  injuries  done 
to  him,  since  he  condescends  to  be  reconciled.  It  is,  how- 
ever, to  be  understood  that  this  statement  does  not  represent 
the  state  of  the  Divine  mind  towards  all  mankind  without 
distinction :  it  sets  forth  a  special  privilege  of  the  Church  ; 
for  God  is  expressly  called  by  Moses,  (Deut.  v.  9,)  "  a  terri- 
ble avenger,  visiting  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  the 
children."  But  David,  passing  by  unbelievers,  upon  whom 
rests  the  everlasting  and  unappeasable  wrath  of  God,  teaches 
us  how  tenderly  he  pardons  his  own  children,  even  as  God 
himself  speaks  in  Isaiah,  (chap.  liv.  7,  8,)  "  For  a  small 
moment  have  I  forsaken  thee  ;  but  with  great  mercies  will  I 
gather  thee.  In  a  little  wrath  I  hid  my  face  from  thee  for  a 
moment ;  but  with  everlasting  kindness  will  I  have  mercy 
on  thee." 

10.  He  hath  not  dealt  with  us  after  our  sins.  The  Psalmist 
here  proves  from  experience,  or  from  the  effect,  what  he  has 
stated  concerning  the  Divine  character ;  for  it  was  entirely 
owing  to  the  wonderful  forbearance  of  God  that  the  Israel- 
ites had  hitherto  continued  to  exist.  Let  each  of  us,  as  if 
he  had  said,  examine  his  own  life  ;  let  us  inquire  in  how 
many  ways  we  have  provoked  the  wrath  of  God?  or, 
rather,  do  we  not  continually  provoke  it  ?  and  yet  he  not 
only  forbears  to  punish  us,  but  bountifully  maintains  those 
whom  he  might  justly  destroy. 

11.  For  in  proportion  to  the  height  of  the  heavens  above  the 
earth.  The  Psalmist  here  confirms  by  a  comparison  the 
truth  that  God  does  not  punish  the  faithful  as  they  have  de- 
served, but,  by  his  mercy,  strives  against  their  sins.  The 
form  of  expression  is  equivalent  to  saying  that  God's  mercy 
towards  us  is  infinite.     With  respect  to  the  word  ^'2^,gahary 

'  "  I  am  watching  him,  as  he  has  watched  to  do  a  bad  turn  to  me." 


136  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIIl. 

it  is  of  little  consequence  whether  it  is  taken  in  a  neuter 
signification, or  in  a  transitive,  as  is  noted  on  the  margin;  for  in 
either  way  the  immeasurableness  of  God's  mercy  is  compared 
to  the  vast  extent  of  the  world.  As  the  mercy  of  God  could 
not  reach  us,  unless  the  obstacle  of  our  guilt  were  taken 
away,  it  is  immediately  added,  (verse  12th,)  that  God  re- 
moves our  sins  as  far  from  us  as  the  east  is  distant  from  the 
west.  The  amount  is,  that  God's  mercy  is  poured  out  upon 
the  faithful  far  and  wide,  according  to  the  magnitude  of  the 
world ;  and  that,  in  order  to  take  away  every  impediment  to 
its  course,  their  sins  are  completely  blotted  out.  The  Psalm- 
ist confirms  what  I  have  just  now  stated,  namely,  that  he 
does  not  treat  in  general  of  what  God  is  towards  the  Avhole 
world,  but  of  the  character  in  which  he  manifests  himself 
towards  the  faithful.  Whence  also  it  is  evident  that  he  does 
not  here  speak  of  that  mercy  by  which  God  reconciles  us  to 
himself  at  the  first,  but  of  that  with  which  he  continually  fol- 
lows those  whom  he  has  embraced  with  his  fatherly  love.  There 
is  one  kind  of  mercy  by  which  he  restores  us  from  death  to 
life,  while  as  yet  we  are  strangers  to  him,  and  another  by 
which  lie  sustains  this  restored  life  ;  for  that  blessing  would 
forthwith  be  lost  did  he  not  confirm  it  in  us  by  daily  pardon- 
ing our  sins.  Whence  also  we  gather  how  egregiously  the 
Papists  trifle  in  imagining  that  the  free  remission  of  sins  is 
bestowed  only  once,  and  that  afterwards  righteousness  is 
acquired  or  retained  by  the  merit  of  good  works,  and  that 
whatever  guilt  we  contract  is  removed  by  satisfactions. 
Here  David  does  not  limit  to  a  moment  of  time  the  mercy 
by  which  God  reconciles  us  to  himself  in  not  imputing  to  us 
our  sins,  but  extends  it  even  to  the  close  of  life.  Not  less 
powerful  is  the  argument  which  this  passage  furnishes  us  in 
refutation  of  those  fanatics  who  bewitch  both  themselves  and 
others  Avith  a  vain  opinion  of  their  having  attained  to  perfect 
righteousness,  so  that  they  no  longer  stand  in  need  of  pardon. 

13.  As  a  father  is  compassionate  towards  his  children,  so  has 
Jehovah  been  compassionate^  toicards  them  that  fear  him. 

^  In  the  French  the  verb  is  in  the  present  tense,  "  So  Jehovah  is  com- 
passionate." 


PSALM  cm.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  137 

14.  For  he  knoweth  of  what  we  are  made  ;  he  hath  remembered 

that  we  are  dust. 

15.  As  for  man,  his  days  are  like  the  grass  :  as  a  flower  of  the 

field,  so  he  flourishelh. 

16.  As  soon  as  the  wind  passeth  over  it,  it  is  gone  ;^  and  its  place 

shall  know  it  no  more. 


13.  As  a  father  is  compassionate  towards  his  children.  The 
Psalmist  not  only  explains  by  a  comparison  what  he  has 
already  stated,  but  he  at  the  same  time  assigns  the  cause 
why  God  so  graciously  forgives  us,  which  is,  because  he  is  a 
father.  It  is  then  in  consequence  of  God's  having  freely  and 
sovereignly  adopted  us  as  his  children  that  he  continually 
pardons  our  sins,  and  accordingly  we  are  to  draw  from  that 
fountain  the  hope  of  forgiveness.  And  as  no  man  has  been 
adopted  on  the  ground  of  his  own  merit,  it  follows  that  sins 
are  freely  pardoned.  God  is  compared  to  earthly  fathers,  not 
because  he  is  in  every  respect  like  them,  but  because  there  is  no 
earthly  image  by  which  his  unparalleled  love  towards  us  can  be 
better  expressed.  That  God's  fatherly  goodness  may  not  be 
perverted  as  an  encouragement  to  sin,  David  again  repeats 
that  God  is  thus  favourable  only  to  those  who  are  his  sincere 
worshippers.  It  is  indeed  a  proof  of  no  ordinary  forbearance 
for  God  to  "  make  his  sun  to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the 
good,"  (Matth.  v.  45 ;)  but  the  subject  here  treated  is  the 
free  imputation  of  the  righteousness  by  which  we  are  ac- 
counted the  children  of  God.  Now  this  righteousness  is 
offered  only  to  those  who  entirely  devote  themselves  to  so 
bountiful  a  Father,  and  reverently  submit  to  his  word.  But 
as  our  attainments  in  godliness  in  this  world,  whatever  they 
may  be,  come  far  short  of  perfection,  there  remains  only  one 
pillar  on  which  our  salvation  can  securely  rest,  and  that  is 
the  goodness  of  God. 

14.  For  he  knoioeth.    David  here  annihilates  all  the  worth 

'  It  has  been  supposed  that  there  is  here  a  reference  to  that  pestilential 
destructive  wind  of  the  East,  called  the  Simoon,  which,  from  its  extreme 
heat,  destroys  at  once  every  green  thing.  Disease  and  death  overtake 
man,  and  reduce  him  to  his  original  dust,  as  surely  and  speedily  as  this 
scorching  wind  blasts  the  tender  flower. 


138  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIII. 

which  men  would  arrogate  to  themselves,  and  asserts  that  it 
is  the  consideration  of  our  misery,  and  that  alone,  which 
moves  God  to  exercise  patience  towards  us.  This  again 
we  ought  carefully  to  mark,  not  only  for  the  purpose  of  sub- 
duing the  pride  of  our  flesh,  but  also  that  a  sense  of  our 
unworthiness  may  not  prevent  us  from  trusting  in  God.  The 
more  wretched  and  despicable  our  condition  is,  the  more 
inclined  is  God  to  show  mercy,  for  the  remembrance  that  we 
are  clay  and  dust  is  enough  to  incite  him  to  do  us  good. 

To  the  same  purpose  is  the  comparison  immediately  fol- 
lowing, (verse  15,)  that  all  the  excellency  of  man  withers 
away  like  a  fading  flower  at  the  first  blast  of  the  wind.  Man 
is  indeed  improperly  said  to  flourish.  But  as  it  might  be 
alleged  that  he  is,  nevertheless,  distinguished  by  some  en- 
dowment or  other,  David  grants  that  he  flourishes  like  the 
grass,  instead  of  saying,  as  he  might  justly  have  done,  that 
he  is  a  vapour  or  shadow,  or  a  thing  of  nought.  Although, 
as  long  as  we  live  in  this  world,  we  are  adorned  with 
natural  gifts,  and,  to  say  nothing  of  other  things,  "  live,  and 
move,  and  have  our  being  in  God,"  (Acts  xvii.  28 ;)  yet  as 
we  have  nothing  except  Avhat  is  dependent  on  the  will  of 
another,  and  which  may  be  taken  from  us  every  hour,  our 
life  is  only  a  show  or  phantom  that  passes  away.  The 
subject  here  treated,  is  properly  the  brevity  of  life,  to 
which  God  has  a  regard  in  so  mercifully  pardoning  us,  as  it 
is  said  in  another  psalm  : — "  He  remembered  that  they  were 
but  flesh,  a  wind  that  passeth  away,  and  cometh  not  again," 
(Ixxviii.  39.)  If  it  is  asked  why  David,  making  no  mention 
of  the  soul,  which  yet  is  the  principal  part  of  man,  declares 
us  to  be  dust  and  clay  ?  I  answer,  that  it  is  enough  to 
induce  God  mercifully  to  sustain  us,  when  he  sees  that 
nothing  surpasses  our  life  in  frailty.  And  although  the  soul, 
after  it  has  departed  from  the  prison  of  the  body,  remains 
alive,  yet  its  doing  so  does  not  arise  from  any  inherent  power 
of  its  own.  Were  God  to  withdraw  his  grace,  the  soul  would 
be  nothing  more  than  a  puff"  or  blast,  even  as  the  body  is 
dust ;  and  thus  there  would  doubtless  be  found  in  the  whole 
man  nothing  but  mere  vanity. 


PSALM  cm.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  139 

17.  But  the  goodness  of  Jehovah  is  from  everlasting  to  everlasting 

upon  them  that  fear  him,  and  his   righteousness  upon  the 
children  s  children ; 

18.  To  those  who  keep  his  covenant,  and  remember  his  statutes  to 

do  them. 

17.  But  the  goodness  of  Jehovah,  Sj-c.     The  Psalmist  leaves 
nothing  to  men  to  rely  upon  but  the  mercy  of  God  ;  for  it 
would  be  egregious  folly  to  seek  a  ground  of  confidence  in 
themselves.      After  having  shown  the   utter   emptiness    of 
men,  he  adds  the  seasonable  consolation,  that,  although  they 
have   no    intrinsic  excellence,   which   does  not  vanish  into 
smoke,  yet  God  is  an  inexhaustible  fountain  of  life,  to  supply 
their  wants.     This  contrast  is  to  be  particularly  observed ; 
for  whom  does  he  thus  divest  of  all  excellence  ?    The  faithful 
who  are  regenerated  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  who  worship 
him  with  true   devotion,  these  are  the    persons    whom  he 
leaves  nothing  on  which  their  hope  may  rest  but  the  mere 
goodness  of  God.     As  the  Divine  goodness  is  everlasting, 
the  weakness  and  frailty  of  the  faithful  does  not  prevent  them 
from  boasting  of  eternal  salvation  to  the  close  of  life,  and 
even  in  death  itself.      David  does  not   confine  their  hope 
within  the  limits  of  time  :  he  views  it  as  commensurate  in 
duration  with  the  grace  on  which  it  is  founded.     To  goodness 
is  subjoined  righteousness,  a  word,  as  we  have  had  occasion  fre- 
quently to  observe  before,  denoting  the  protection  by  which 
God  defends  and   preserves   his  own  people.      He  is  then 
called  righteous,  not  because  he  rewards  every  man  according 
to  his  desert,  but  because  he  deals  faithfully  with  his  saints, 
in  spreading  the  hand  of  his  protection  over  them.      The 
Prophet  has  properly  placed  this  righteousness  after  goodness, 
as  being  the    effect  of  goodness.      He  also  asserts  that  it 
extends  to  the  children  and  children's  children,  according  to 
these  words  in  Deut.  vii.  9,  "  God  keepeth  mercy  to  a  thou- 
sand generations."     It  is  a  singular  proof  of  his  love  that  he 
not  only  receives  each  of  us  individually  into  his  favour,  but 
also  herein  associates  with  us  our  offspring,  as  it  were  by  here- 
ditary right,  that  they  may  be  partakers  of  the  same  adoption. 
How  shall  He  cast  us  off,  who,  in  receiving  our  children  and 


140  COIVIMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CHI. 

children's  children  into  his  protection,  shows  to  us  in  their 
persons  how  precious  our  salvation  is  in  his  sight  ? 

Farther,  as  nothing  is  more  easy  than  for  hypocrites  to 
flatter  themselves  under  a  false  pretext,  that  they  are  in 
favour  with  God,  or  for  degenerate  children  groundlessly 
to  apply  to  themselves  the  promises  made  to  their  fathers, 
it  is  again  stated,  by  way  of  exception,  in  the  18th  verse, 
that  God  is  merciful  only  to  those  who,  on  their  part,  keep  his 
covenant,  which  the  unbelieving  make  of  none  effect  by  their 
wickedness.  The  keeping,  or  observing  of  the  covenant,  which 
is  here  put  instead  of  the  fear  of  God,  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  verse,  is  worthy  of  notice  ;  for  thus  David  inti- 
mates that  none  are  the  true  worshippers  of  God  but  those 
who  reverently  obey  his  Word.  Very  far  from  this  are  the 
Papists,  who,  thinking  themselves  equal  to  the  angels  in 
holiness,  nevertheless  shake  off  the  yoke  of  God,  like  wild 
beasts,  by  trampling  under  foot  his  Holy  Word.  David, 
therefore,  rightly  judges  of  men's  godliness,  by  their  submit- 
ting themselves  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  following  the  rule 
which  he  has  prescribed  to  them.  As  the  covenant  begins 
with  a  solemn  article  containing  the  promise  of  grace,  faith  and 
prayer  are  required,  above  all  things,  to  the  proper  keeping 
of  it.  Nor  is  the  additional  clause  superfluous — who  remember 
his  statutes ;  for,  although  God  is  continually  putting  us  in 
mind  of  them,  yet  we  soon  slide  away  to  worldly  cares — are 
confused  by  a  multiplicity  of  avocations,  and  are  lulled  asleep 
by  many  allurements.  Thus  forgetfulness  extinguishes  the 
light  of  truth,  unless  the  faithful  stir  up  themselves  from  time 
to  time.  David  tells  us  that  this  remembrance  of  God's 
statutes  has  an  invigorating  effect  when  men  employ  them- 
selves in  doing  them.  Many  are  sufficiently  forward  to  discourse 
upon  them  with  their  tongues  whose  feet  are  very  slow,  and 
whose  hands  are  well  nigh  dead,  in  regard  to  active  service. 

19.  Jehovah  hath  established  his  throne  in  the  heavens ;  and  his 

kingdom  ruleth  over  all. 

20.  Bless  Jehovah,  ye  his  angels,  who  are  mighty  in  strength,  who 

do  his  commandment,  in  hearing '  the  voice  of  his  word. 

'  In  the  French  version  it  is  "en  obeissant,"  "in obeying."    Ham- 


PSALM  cm.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  141 

21.  Bless  Jehovah,  all  ye  his  hosts  ;  ye  his  ministers,  who  do  his 

pleasure. 

22.  Bless  Jehovah,  all  ye  his  works  in  all  places  of  his  dominion  : 

bless  Jehovah,  0  my  soul  I 

19.  Jehovah  hath  established  his  throne  in  the  heavens.  Da- 
vid having  recounted  the  benefits  by  which  God  lays  each  of 
us  in  particular,  and  also  the  whole  Church,  under  obligation 
to  him,  now  extols  in  general  his  infinite  glory.  The  amount 
is,  that  whenever  God  is  mentioned,  men  should  learn  to  as- 
cend in  their  contemplations  above  the  whole  world,  because 
his  majesty  transcends  the  heavens  ;  and  they  should  farther 
learn  not  to  measure  his  power  by  that  of  man,  since  it  has 
under  its  control  all  kingdoms  and  dominions.  That  none 
may  think  that  earthly  creatures  only  are  here  put  in  subjec- 
tion to  God,  the  Psalmist  chiefly  addresses  the  angels.  In 
calling  upon  them  to  join  in  praising  God,  he  teaches  both 
himself  and  all  the  godly,  that  there  is  not  a  better  nor  a 
more  desirable  exercise  than  to  praise  God,  since  there  is 
not  a  more  excellent  service  in  which  even  the  angels  are 
employed.  The  angels  are  doubtless  too  willing  and  prompt 
in  the  discharge  of  this  duty,  to  stand  in  need  of  incitement 
from  us.  With  what  face  then,  it  may  be  said,  can  we,  whose 
slothfulness  is  so  great,  take  it  upon  us  to  exhort  them  ?  But 
although  these  exalted  beings  run  swiftly  before  us,  and  we 
with  difiiculty  come  lagging  after  them,  yet  David  enjoins 
them  to  sing  God's  praises  for  our  sake,  that  by  their  example 
he  may  awaken  us  from  our  drowsiness.  The  object  he  has 
in  view,  as  I  have  adverted  to  before,  is  to  be  noted,  which  is, 
by  addressing  his  discourse  to  the  angels  to  teach  us,  that  the 
highest  end  which  they  propose  to  themselves  is  to  advance 
the  divine  glory.  Accordingly,  while  in  one  sentence  he 
clothes  them  with  strength^  in  the  immediately  following,  he 

mond  reads,  "  at  hearing ;"  and  observes—"  The  sense  of  yjo:;'^  in 
this  place  seems  best  expressed  by  the  Arabic,  '  as  soon  as  they  hear  ;' 
for  that  is  the  character  of  the  angels'  obedience,  that  as  soon  as  they  hear 
the  voice  of  God's  word,  as  soon  as  his  will  is  revealed  to  them,  they 
promptly  and  presently  obey  it.  The  Chaldee  renders  it,  '  at  his  voice 
being  heard  ;'  and  the  LXX.  rov  a.Kou(j»i^  '  as  they  hear,'  or  '  as  soon  as 
they  hear,'" 


142  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIH. 

describes  them  as  hanging  on  God's  woi'd,  waiting  for  his 
orders, —  Ye  who  do  his  commandment.  However  great  the 
power,  as  if  he  had  said,  with  which  you  are  endued,  you 
reckon  nothing  more  honourable  than  to  obey  God.  And  it 
is  not  only  said  that  they  execute  God's  commandments,  but 
to  express  more  distinctly  the  promptitude  of  their  obedience, 
it  is  asserted,  that  they  are  always  ready  to  perform  whatever 
he  commands  them. 

21.  Bless  Jehovah,  all  ye  his  hosts.  By  hosts  is  not  to  be 
understood  the  stars,  as  some  explain  it.  The  subject  of  the 
preceding  verse  is  still  continued.  Nor  is  the  repetition  su- 
perfluous ;  for  the  word  hosts  teaches  us  that  there  are  my- 
riads of  myriads  who  stand  before  the  throne  of  God,  ready 
to  receive  every  intimation  of  his  will.  Again,  they  are 
called  his  ministers  tcho  do  his  -pleasure,  to  intimate  to  us,  that 
they  are  not  there  intent  in  idly  beholding  God's  glory,  but 
that  having  been  appointed  as  our  ministers  and  guardians, 
they  are  always  ready  for  their  work.  Instead  of  word,  the 
term  pleasure  is  here  used,  and  both  are  employed  with  much 
propriety ;  for  although  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  stars, 
observe  the  laws  which  God  has  ordained  for  them,  yet  being 
without  understanding,  they  cannot  properly  be  said  to  obey 
his  word  and  his  voice.  The  term  obey  is  indeed  sometimes 
transferred  to  the  mute  and  insensible  parts  of  creation.^  It 
is,  however,  only  in  a  metaphorical  sense  that  they  can  be 
said  to  hearken  to  God^s  voice,  when  by  a  secret  instinct  of 
nature  they  fulfil  his  purposes.  But  this  in  the  proper  sense 
is  true  of  angels,  who  actively  obey  him  upon  their  under- 
standing from  his  sacred  mouth  what  he  would  have  them 
to  do.  The  word  pleasure  expresses  more  plainly  a  joyful 
and  cheerful  obedience,  implying  that  the  angels  not  only 
obey  God's  commandments,  but  also  willingly  and  with  the 
greatest  delight  receive  the  intimations  of  his  will,  that 
they  may  perform  what  he  would  have  them  to  do.  Such 
is  the  import  of  the  Hebrew  noun,  as  has  been  stated 
elsewhere. 

'  "  Aux  creatures  muetes  et  iusensibles."— Z^/-. 


FSALM  CIV.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  143 

22.  Bless  Jehovah,  all  ye  his  looj-hs.  The  Psalmist  in  con- 
clusion addresses  all  creatures;  for  although  they  may  be 
without  speech  and  understanding,  yet  they  ought  in  a  man- 
ner to  re-echo  the  praises  of  their  Creator.  This  he  does  on 
our  account,  that  Ave  may  learn  that  there  is  not  a  corner  in 
heaven  or  on  earth  where  God  is  not  praised.  We  have 
less  excuse,  if,  when  all  the  works  of  God  by  praising  their 
Maker  reproach  us  for  our  sloth,  we  do  not  at  least  follow 
their  example.  The  express  mention  of  all  places  of  his  do- 
minion, seems  to  be  intended  to  stir  up  the  faithful  to  greater 
ardour  in  this  exercise  ;  for  if  even  those  countries  where  his 
voice  is  unheard  ought  not  to  be  mute  in  his  praise,  how  can 
we  lawfully  remain  silent  to  whom  he  opens  his  mouth,  anti- 
cipating us  by  his  own  sacred  voice  ?  In  short,  David  shows 
that  his  design  in  recounting  God's  benefits,  and  magnifying 
the  extent  of  his  empire,  was  to  animate  himself  the  more  to 
the  exercise  of  praising  him. 


PSALM  CIV. 

This  psahn  differs  from  the  preceding,  inasmuch  as  it  neither  treats  of 
the  special  benefits  which  God  bestows  upon  his  Church,  nor  lifts  us 
up  to  the  hope  of  the  heavenly  life,  but  by  presenting  to  us  a  lively 
image  of  his  Avisdom,  power,  and  goodness  in  the  creation  of  the  world, 
and  in  the  order  of  nature,  encourages  us  to  praise  him  for  the  mani- 
festation he  has  made  of  himself  as  a  father  to  us  in  this  frail  and 
perishable  life.*- 


^  "  For  regularity  of  composition,  richness  of  imagery,  sublimity  of 
sentiment,  and  elegance  and  perspicuity  of  diction,  this  hymn  is  perhaps 
the  principal  poem  in  the  whole  collection  of  these  inspired  songs.  As 
there  is  no  allusion  in  it  to  the  Mosaic  ritual,  nor  any  mention  of  the  de- 
liverance of  the  Israelites  from  Egypt,  it  should  seem  that  it  was  of  an 
earlier  age  than  the  Exodus.  It  consists  of  parts  sung  alternately  by 
two  companies.  The  parts  are  easily  distinguished,  inasmuch  as  one 
Semichorus  always  speaks  of  God  in  the  third  person,  the  other  addresses 
him  in  the  second." — Ilorsky. 


144  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

1.  Bless  Jehovah,  0  my  soul !   0  Jehovah  my  God!  thou  art  ex- 

ceeding great;  thou  hast  clothed  thyself  with  praise  and 
glory. 

2.  Being  arrayed  ^  with  light  as  with  a  garment ;  and  spreading 

out  the  heavens  as  a  curtain  : 

3.  Laying  the  beams  of  his  upper  rooms^  in  the  waters  ;  maTcing 

the  clouds  his  chariot ;  and  walking  upon  the  wings  of  the 
wind  : 

4.  Making  the  winds  his  messengers  ;  and  his  ministers  a  flaming 

fire. 

'  "  It  is  a  singular  circumstance,"  says  Horsley,  "  in  the  composition 
of  this  psalm,  that  each  of  the  parts  of  the  First  Semichorus  after  the 
first,  [that  is,  verses  2,  3,  4,  5,  10,  13,  14,  19,]  begins  with  a  participle. 
And  these  participles  are  accusatives,  agreeing  with  nins  the  object  of 
the  verb  ^313,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Avhole  psalm.  Bless  Jehovah — 
putting  on — extending — laying — constituting — travelling — making — set- 
ting— sending — watering — making — making.  Thus,  this  transitive  verb, 
in  the  opening  of  the  psalm,  extending  its  government  through  the  suc- 
cessive parts  of  the  same  semichorus,  except  the  last,  unites  them  all  in 
one  long  period.  As  this  singular  artifice  of  composition  seems  to  be  the 
characteristic  of  a  particular  species  of  ode,  in  this  psalm,  I  have  scrupu- 
lously conformed  to  it  in  my  translation,  at  the  expense  of  the  elegance 
of  my  English  style."  Calvin,  for  the  most  part,  translates  these  words 
as  participles,  but  in  the  nominative  case. 

2  "  The  original  word,  which  comes  from  ^hVi  ascendit,  signifies  any 
upper  room  to  which  persons  ascend.  So  2  Sam.  xviii.  32,  '  he  went  up 
to  -iyti>n  T\'hv-'  tb^  chamber  over  the  gate.'  Accordingly,  the  LXX.  here 
render  it,  vTn^Zov, '  an  upper  room,'  and  the  Latin, '  superiora  ejus,'  '  his 
upper  stoi'ies.'  By  Vfllvyi  therefore,  must  be  meant,  though  not  the  su- 
preme, yet  the  superior  or  middle  region  of  the  air,  which  is  hei'e  de- 
scribed as  an  upper  story  in  a  house  laid  firm  with  beams,  (accounting 
the  earth  and  the  region  of  air  about  that  as  the  lower  room,)  and  this 
floor  is  here  said  poetically  to  be  '  laid  in  the  waters,'  those  waters 
which  (Gen.  i.)  are  above  the  expansion  or  lower  region  of  the  air,  which 
divides  the  waters  from  the  waters.  This  is  most  evident  by  verse  13, 
where  God  is  said  to  '  water  the  mountains  vnv'pyDi  froin  these  his 
upper  rooms.,  these  clouds  whence  the  rain  descends.'  In  them,  saith  the 
Psalmist,  '  the  beams  of  these  upper  rooms  were  laid,'  i.e.,  whereas  in 
the  building  of  an  upper  story,  there  must  be  some  Avails  or  pillars  to 
support  the  weight  of  it,  and  in  that  the  beams  are  laid,  God  here  by 
his  o^v\\  miraculous  immediate  power  laid,  and  ever  since  supported  these 
upper  rooms,  there  being  nothing  there  but  waters  to  support  them,  and 
those  we  know  the  most  fluid  tottering  body,  not  able  to  support  itself; 
and  therefore  that  is  another  work  of  his  divine  power,  that  the  waters 
which  are  so  fluid,  and  unable  to  contain  themselves  within  theii-  own 
bounds,  should  yet  hang  in  the  middle  of  the  air,  and  be  as  walls  or  pillars 
to  support  that  region  of  air,  which  is  itself  another  fluid  body." — Ham- 
mond. Fry,  after  quoting  Dr  Geddes'  version, — "  Flooring  his  chambers 
with  waters,"  and  Bishop  Horsley,  "  Laying  the  floors  of  his  chambers 
upon  the  waters,"  goes  on  to  say ;— "  After  referring,  however,  to  the 
dififerent  places  where  the  word  occurs,  and  considering  the  structure  of 


PSALM  CIV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  145 

1.  Bless  Jehovah,  O  my  soul !  After  having  exhorted  him- 
self to  praise  God,  the  Psalmist  adds,  that  there  is  abundant  mat- 
ter for  such  an  exercise  ;  thus  indirectly  condemning  himself 
and  others  of  ingratitude,  if  the  praises  of  God,  than  which 
nothing  ought  to  be  better  known,  or  more  celebrated,  are 
buried  by  silence.  In  comparing  the  light  with  Avhich  he 
represents  God  as  arrayed  to  a  garment,  he  intimates,  that 
although  God  is  invisible,  yet  his  glory  is  conspicuous  enough. 
In  respect  of  his  essence,  God  undoubtedly  dwells  in  light 
that  is  inaccessible ;  but  as  he  irradiates  the  whole  world  by 
his  splendour,  this  is  the  garment  in  which  He,  who  is  hidden 
in  himself,  appears  in  a  manner  visible  to  us.  The  knowledge 
of  this  truth  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  If  men  attempt 
to  reach  the  infinite  height  to  which  God  is  exalted,  although 
they  fly  above  the  clouds,  they  must  fail  in  the  midst  of  their 
course.  Those  who  seek  to  see  him  in  his  naked  majesty 
are  certainly  very  foolish.  That  we  may  enjoy  the  sight  of 
him,  he  must  come  forth  to  view  with  his  clothing  ;  that 
is  to  say,  we  must  cast  our  eyes  upon  the  very  beautiful 
fabric  of  the  world  in  which  he  wishes  to  be  seen  by  us,  and 
not  be  too  curious  and  rash  in  searching  into  his  secret 
essence.  Now,  since  God  presents  himself  to  us  clothed  with 
light,  those  who  are  seeking  pretexts  for  their  living  without 
the  knowledge  of  him,  cannot  allege  in  excuse  of  their  sloth- 
fulness,  that  he  is  hidden  in  profound  darkness.  When  it  is 
said  that  the  heavens  are  a  curtain,  it  is  not  meant  that  under 
them  God  hides  himself,  but  that  by  them  his  majesty  and 
glory  are  displayed  ;  being,  as  it  were,  his  royal  pavilion. 

3.  Laying  the  beams  of  his  chambers  in  the  ivaters.     David 
now  proceeds  to  explain   at  greater  length   what    he    had 

jvncient  buildings,  I  conceive  the  allusion  to  be  to  the  roof,  or  con- 
tignated  frame  of  the  house.  Genesis  xix.  8,  seems  decisive.  Wescemto 
lose  somewhat  of  the  beauty  of  the  original  by  translating  Twhv  too 
literally.  It  signifies  certainly,  iipper  rooms,  or  stories ;  but  the  allusion 
is  not  to  these  on  account  of  their  situation,  but  as  the  part  of  the  house 
principally  inhabited  by  its  owner,  the  lower  parts  of  eastern  houses  be- 
ing used  for  offices. — See  Parkhurst  and  authors  there  quoted  :  compare 
Ps.  xviii.,  '  He  set  darkness  his  veil  around  him, — his  canopy  the  waters 
and  thick  mists  of  the  clouds.'"  Fry's  translation  is,  "  And  framing  his 
habitation  with  waters." 

VOL.  IV.  K 


146  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

briefly  stated  under  the  figure  of  God's  raiment.  The  scope 
of  the  passage  is  shortly  this,  that  we  need  not  pierce  our 
way  above  the  clouds  for  the  purpose  of  finding  God,  since 
he  meets  us  in  the  fabric  of  the  world,  and  is  everywhere 
exhibiting  to  our  view  scenes  of  the  most  vivid  description. 
That  we  may  not  Imagine  that  there  is  any  thing  in  Him  de- 
rived, as  if,  by  the  creation  of  the  world,  he  received  any 
addition  to  his  essential  perfection  and  glory,  we  must  re- 
member that  he  clothes  himself  with  this  robe  for  our  sake. 
The  metaphorical  representation  of  God,  as  laying  the  beams 
of  his  chambers  in  the  waters,  seems  somewhat  diflScult  to 
understand ;  but  it  was  the  design  of  the  prophet,  from  a 
thing  incomprehensible  to  us,  to  ravish  us  with  the  greater 
admiration.  Unless  beams  be  substantial  and  strong,  they 
will  not  be  able  to  sustain  even  the  weight  of  an  ordinary 
house.  When,  therefore,  God  makes  the  waters  the  founda- 
tion of  his  heavenly  palace,  who  can  fail  to  be  astonished  at 
a  miracle  so  Avonderful  ?  When  we  take  into  account  our 
slowness  of  apprehension,  such  hyperbolical  expressions  are 
by  no  means  superfluous ;  for  it  is  with  difficulty  that  they 
awaken  and  enable  us  to  attain  even  a  slight  knowledge  of 
God. 

What  is  meant  by  his  walking  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind, 
is  rendered  more  obvious  from  the  following  verse,  where  it 
is  said,  that  the  winds  are  his  messengers.  God  rides  on  the 
clouds,  and  is  carried  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind,  inasmuch 
as  he  drives  about  the  winds  and  clouds  at  his  pleasure,  and 
by  sending  them  hither  and  thither  as  swiftly  as  he  pleases, 
shows  thereby  the  signs  of  his  presence.  By  these  words  we 
are  taught  that  the  Avlnds  do  not  blow  by  chance,  nor  the 
lightnings  flash  by  a  fortuitous  impulse,  but  that  God,  in 
the  exercise  of  his  sovereign  power,  rules  and  controls  all 
the  agitations  and  disturbances  of  the  atmosphere.  From 
this  doctrine  a  twofold  advantage  may  be  reaped.  In  the 
first  place,  if  at  any  time  noxious  winds  arise,  if  the  south 
wind  corrupt  the  air,  or  if  the  north  wind  scorch  the  corn, 
and  not  only  tear  up  trees  by  the  root,  but  overthrow  houses, 
and  if  other  winds  destroy  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  we  ought 
to  tremble  under  these  scourges  of  Providence.      In   the 


PSALM  CIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  147 

second  place,  if,  on  the  other  hand,  God  moderate  the  exces- 
sive heat  by  a  gentle  cooling  breeze,  if  he  purify  the  polluted 
atmosphere  by  the  north  wind,  or  if  he  moisten  the  parched 
ground  by  south  winds;  in  this" we  ought  to  contemplate  his 
goodness. 

As  the  apostle,  who  writes  to  the  Hebrews,  (chap.  i.  7,) 
quotes  this  passage,  and  applies  it  to  the  angels,  both  the 
Greek  and  Latin  expositors  have  almost  unanimously  con- 
sidered David  as  here  speaking  allegorically.  In  like  man- 
ner, because  Paul,  in  quoting  Psalm  xix.  4,  in  his  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  (chap.  x.  18,)  seems  to  apply  to  the  apostles 
what  is  there  stated  concerning  the  heavens,  the  whole 
psalm  has  been  injudiciously  expounded  as  if  it  were  an  alle- 
gory.^ The  design  of  the  apostle,  in  that  part  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews  referred  to,  was  not  simply  to  explain  the  mind 
of  the  prophet  in  this  place  ;  but  since  God  is  exhibited  to 
us,  as  it  were,  visibly  in  a  mirror,  the  apostle  very  properly 
lays  down  the  analogy  between  the  obedience  which  the 
wdnds  manifestly  and  perceptibly  yield  to  God,  and  that 
obedience  which  he  receives  from  the  angels.  In  short,  the 
meaning  is,  that  as  God  makes  use  of  the  winds  as  his  mes- 
sengers, turns  them  hither  and  thither,  calms  and  raises  them 
whenever  he  pleases,  that  by  their  ministry  he  may  declare 
his  power,  so  the  angels  were  created  to  execute  his  com- 
mands. And  certainly  we  profit  little  in  the  contemplation 
of  universal  nature,  if  we  do  not  behold  with  the  eyes  of 
faith  that  spiritual  glory  of  which  an  image  is  presented  to 
us  in  the  world. 


5.  He  hath  founded  the  earth  upon  its  foundations,  so  that  it  shall 

not  be  moved  for  ever. 

6.  He  hath  covered  it  with   the  deep  as  with  a  garment  :  the 

waters  shall  stand  above  the  mountains, 

7.  At  thy  rebuke  they  shall  fee  ;  at  the  voice  of  thy  thunder  they 

shall  haste  away.^ 

»  See  vol.  i.  p.  814. 

2  "  The  waters,  by  a  beautiful  prosopopoeia,  are  supposed  to  be  put 
into  a  panic  at  tiie  voice  of  Jehovah.     Sec  Ps.  Ixxvii.  16." — Dimock. 


148  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

8.  The  mountains  shall  ascend,  and  the  valleys  shall  descend '  to 

the  place  which  thou  hast  founded  for  them. 

9.  Thou  hast  fixed  a  hound  over  which  they  shall  not  pass  ;  they 

shall  not  return  to  cover  the  earth. 

5.  He  hath  founded  the  earth  upon  its  foundations.  Here  the 
prophet  celebrates  the  glory  of  God,  as  manifested  in  the 
stability  of  the  earth.  Since  it  is  suspended  in  the  midst  of 
the  air,  and  is  supported  only  by  pillars  of  water,  how  does 
it  keep  its  place  so  stedfastly  that  it  cannot  be  moved  ? 
This  I  indeed  grant  may  be  explained  on  natural  principles  ; 
for  the  earth,  as  it  occupies  the  lowest  place,  being  the  centre 

1  Calvin  here  renders  mountains  and  valleys  in  the  nominative  case. 
In  onr  English  version  they  are  rendered  in  the  accusative  :  "  They  go 
up  by  the  mountains,  they  go  down  by  the  valleys."     "  It  is  not  here 
certain,"  says  Hammond,  "  whether  onn,  mountains.,  and  niyp^i  val- 
leys or  plains,  be  to  be  read  in  the  nominative  or  in  the  accusative 
case.     If  they  be  in  the  nominative,  then  we  must  read  as  in  a  paren- 
thesis, ('  the  mountains  ascend,  the  plains  or  valleys  sink  down,')  joining 
the  end  of  the  verse,  '  imto  the  place,'  etc.  to  'haste  away,'  verse  7,  thus  : 
'  The  waters  once  stood  above  the  mountains, — those  places  which  now 
are  such ; — but  at  the  uttering  God's  voice.,  they  fled  and  hasted  away  (the 
mountains  ascending  and  the  valleys  descending)  unto  the  place  which 
thou  hast  prepared  for  them.'     Thus  the  LXX.  and  Latin  understand  it, 
dvoi^ccivovaiv  o^ri,  x-arotZotiuovai  vihlci,  '  ascenduut  montes,  et  descendunt 
campi,'  '  the  mountains  ascend,  and  the  plains  descend,'  referring  to  the 
change  that  was  made  in  the  earth  from  being  perfectly  round  and 
encompassed  with  waters,  into  that  inequality  wherein  now  it  is,  great 
mountains  in  some  parts,  and  great  cavities  in  other  parts,  wherein  the 
waters  were  disposed,  which  before  covered  the  face  of  the  earth.    But 
they  may  be  more  probably  in  the  accusative  case,  and  then  co,  the 
'  waters,'  verse  6,  which  were  imderstood,  verse  7,  though  not  men- 
tioned, (for  it  was  the  waters  that  there  fled  and  hasted  away,)  must  be 
here  continued  also,  viz.,  that  '  the  waters  i^yi,  ascend,'  or  '  climb  the 
mountains,'  and  n^iV  '  descend,'  or  '  fall  down  upon  the  valleys,'  or  '  fis- 
sures,' or  '  hollow  places,'  ditches,  and  the  like  receptacles  of  waters,  (for 
so  yip3  now  signifies  among  the  Rabbins.)     And  this  sense  the  Chaldee 
follows,  '  They  ascend  from  the  abyss  to  the  mountains,  and  they  descend 
into  the  valleys,  to  the  place,'  &c.  And  this  is  the  clearest  exposition  of  it, 
rendering  an  account  of  the  course  of  waters.,  since  the  gathering  of  them 
together  in  the  ocean,  that  from  thence  they  are,  by  the  power  of  God, 
directed  to  pass  through  subteiTanean  meatus  to  the  uppermost  parts  of 
the  earth,  the  hills  and  mountains,  Avhere  they  break  forth  in  springs, 
and  then,  by  their  natural  weight,  descend,  and  either  find  or  make 
channels,  by  which  they  run  into  the  ocean  again,  that  ^'\p'Oi  place, 
which  God  hath  hewed  out  as  a  receptacle  for  them  ;  and  by  their  thus 
passing,  they  are  profitable  for  the  use  of  men,  in  watering  the  cattle,  and 
the  fruits  that  grow  in  the  earth,  verse  10,  &c." 


PSALM  CIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  149 

of  the  world,  naturally  settles  down  there.  But  even  in  this 
contrivance  there  shines  forth  the  wonderful  power  of  God. 
Again,  if  the  waters  are  higher  than  the  earth,  because  they 
are  lighter,  why  do  they  not  cover  the  whole  earth  round 
about  ?  Certainly  the  only  answer  which  philosophers  can 
give  to  this  is,  that  the  tendency  of  the  waters  to  do  so  is 
counteracted  by  the  providence  of  God,  that  a  dwelling-place 
might  be  provided  for  man.  If  they  do  not  admit  that  the 
waters  are  restrained  by  the  determinate  appointment  of 
God,  they  betray  not  only  their  depravity  and  unthankful- 
ness,  but  also  their  ignorance,  and  are  altogether  barbarous. 
The  prophet,  therefore,  not  without  reason,  recounts  among 
the  miracles  of  God,  that  which  would  be  to  us  wholly 
incredible,  did  not  even  experience  show  its  truth.  We  are 
very  base  indeed  if,  taught  by  such  undoubted  a  proof,  w^e 
do  not  learn  that  nothing  in  the  world  is  stable  except  in  as 
far  as  it  is  sustained  by  the  hand  of  God.  The  world  did 
not  originate  from  itself,  consequently,  the  whole  order  of 
nature  depends  on  nothing  else  than  his  appointment,  by 
which  each  element  has  its  own  peculiar  property.  Nor  is 
the  language  of  the  prophet  to  be  viewed  merely  as  an 
exhortation  to  give  thanks  to  God ;  it  is  also  intended  to 
strengthen  our  confidence  in  regard  to  the  future,  that  we 
may  not  live  in  the  world  in  a  state  of  constant  fear  and 
anxiety,  as  we  must  have  done  had  not  God  testified  that  he 
has  given  the  earth  for  a  habitation  to  men.  It  is  a  singular 
blessing,  which  he  bestows  upon  us,  in  his  causing  us  to  dwell 
upon  the  earth  with  undisturbed  minds,  by  giving  us  the  assu- 
rance that  he  has  established  it  upon  everlasting  pillars. 
Although  cities  often  perish  by  earthquakes,  yet  the  body  of 
the  earth  itself  remains.  Yea,  all  the  agitations  which  befall 
it  more  fully  confirm  to  us  the  truth,  that  the  earth  would 
be  swallowed  up  every  moment  were  it  not  preserved  by  the 
secret  power  of  God. 

6.  He  hath  covered  it  with  the  deep  as  with  a  garment.  This 
may  be  understood  in  two  ways,  either  as  implying  that  now 
the  sea  covers  the  earth  as  a  garment,  or  that  at  the  begin- 


150  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

ning,  before  God  by  his  omnipotent  Avord  had  gathered  the 
waters  together  into  one  place,  the  earth  was  covered  with 
the  deep.  But  the  more  suitable  sense  appears  to  be,  that 
the  sea  is  now  the  covering  of  the  earth.  At  the  first 
creation  the  deep  Was  not  so  much  a  garment  as  a  g»ave, 
inasmuch  as  nothing  bears  less  resemblance  to  the  adorning 
of  apparel  than  the  state  of  confused  desolation  and  shapeless 
chaos  in  which  the  earth  then  was.  Accordingly,  in  my 
judgment,  there  is  here  celebrated  that  wonderful  arrange- 
ment by  which  the  deep,  although  without  form,  is  yet 
the  garment  of  the  earth.  But  as  the  context  seems  to  lead 
to  a  different  view,  interpreters  are  rather  inclined  to  explain 
the  language  as  denoting.  That  the  earth  was  covered  with 
the  deep  before  the  waters  had  been  collected  into  a  separate 
place.  This  difficulty  is  however  easily  solved,  if  the  words  of 
the  prophet,  The  waters  shall  stand  above  the  mountains,  are  re- 
solvedintothe  potentialmood  thus.  The  waters  would  stand  above 
the  mountains ;  which  is  sufficiently  vindicated  from  the  usage 
of  the  Hebrew  language.  I  have  indeed  no  doubt  that  the 
prophet,  after  having  said  that  God  had  clothed  the  earth 
with  waters,  adds,  by  way  of  exposition,  that  the  waters 
would  stand  above  the  mountains,  were  it  not  that  they  flee 
away  at  God's  rebuke.  Whence  is  it  that  the  mountains 
are  elevated,  and  that  the  valleys  sink  down,  but  because 
bounds  are  set  to  the  waters,  that  they  may  not  return  to 
overwhelm  the  earth  ?  The  passage  then,  it  is  obvious,  may 
very  properly  be  understood  thus, — that  the  sea,  although  a 
mighty  deep,  which  strikes  terror  by  its  vastness,  is  yet  as  a 
beautiful  garment  to  the  earth.  The  reason  of  the  metaphor 
is,  because  the  surface  of  the  earth  stands  uncovered.  The 
prophet  affirms  that  this  does  not  happen  by  chance  ;  for,  if 
the  providence  of  God  did  not  restrain  the  waters,  would 
they  not  immediately  rush  forth  to  overwhelm  the  whole 
earth  ?  He,  therefore,  speaks  advisedly  when  he  maintains 
that  the  appearance  of  any  part  of  the  earth's  surface  is  not 
the  effect  of  nature,  but  is  an  evident  miracle.  Were  God 
to  give  loose  reins  to  the  sea,  the  waters  would  suddenly 
cover  the  mountains.     But  now%  fleeing  at  God's  rebuke,  they 


PSALM  CIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  151 

retire  to  a  different  quarter.  By  the  rebuke  of  God,  and  the 
voice  of  his  thunder,  is  meant  the  awful  command  of  God,  by 
which  he  restrains  the  violent  raging  of  the  sea.  Although 
at  the  beginning,  by  his  word  alone,  he  confined  the  sea 
Avithin  determinate  bounds,  and  continues  to  this  day  to  keep 
it  within  them,  yet  if  we  consider  how  tumultuously  its 
billows  cast  up  their  foam  when  it  is  agitated,  it  is  no'  with- 
out reason  that  the  prophet  speaks  of  it,  as  kept  in  check  by 
the  powerful  command  of  God;  just  as,  both  in  Jeremiah, 
(chap.  V.  22,)  and  in  Job,  (chap,  xxviii.  25,)  God,  with  much 
sublimity,  commends  his  powei",  as  displayed  in  the  ocean. 
The  ascending  of  the  mountains,  and  the  descending  of  the  val- 
leys, are  poetical  figures,  implying,  that  unless  God  confined 
the  deep  within  bounds,  the  distinction  between  mountains 
and  valleys,  w^iich  contributes  to  the  beauty  of  the  earth, 
would  cease  to  exist,  for  it  would  engulf  the  whole  earth. 
It  is  said  that  God  has  founded  a  place  for  the  valleys ;  for 
there  would  be  no  dry  land  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  but 
the  deep  would  bear  sway,  did  not  God  command  the  space 
there  to  be  unoccupied  by  the  sea,  as  it  were  contrary  to 
nature. 

9.  Thou  hast  set  a  bound  which  they  shall  not  pass.  The 
miracle  spoken  of  is  in  this  verse  amplified,  from  its  perpe- 
tuity. Natural  philosophers  are  compelled  to  admit,  and  it 
is  even  one  of  their  first  principles,  that  the  water  is  circular, 
and  occupies  the  region  intermediate  between  the  earth  and 
the  air.  It  is  entirely  owing  to  the  providence  of  God,  that 
a  part  of  the  earth  remains  dry  and  fit  for  the  habitation  of 
men.  This  is  a  fact  of  which  mariners  have  the  most  satis- 
factory evidence.  Yea,  were  even  the  rudest  and  most 
stupid  of  our  race  only  to  open  their  eyes,  they  would 
behold  in  the  sea  mountains  of  water  elevated  far  above 
the  level  of  the  land.  Certainly  no  banks,  and  even  no  iron 
gates,  could  make  the  waters,  which  in  their  own  nature 
are  fluid  and  unstable,  keep  together  and  in  one  place, 
as  we  see  to  be  the  case.  I  have  just  now  said  that  earth- 
quakes, which  bring  destruction  upon  some  places,  leave  the 


152  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

globe,  upon  the  whole,  as  it  was  before ;  and  In  Hke  manner, 
although  the  sea,  in  some  parts  of  the  world,  overpasses  its 
boundaries,  yet  the  law,  which  confines  it  within  certain 
limits,  stands  fast,  that  the  earth  may  be  a  fit  habitation  for 
men.  The  Baltic  Sea,  in  our  own  time,  inundated  large 
tracts  of  land,  and  did  great  damage  to  the  Flemish  people 
and  other  neighbouring  nations.  By  an  instance  of  this 
kind  we  are  warned  what  would  be  the  consequence,  were 
the  restraint  imposed  upon  the  sea,  by  the  hand  of  God, 
removed.  How  is  it  that  we  have  not  therebv  been  swal- 
lowed  up  together,  but  because  God  has  held  in  that  outi'a- 
geous  element  by  his  word  ?  In  short,  although  the  natural 
tendency  of  the  waters  is  to  cover  the  earth,  yet  this  will  not 
happen,  because  God  has  established,  by  his  word,  a  coun- 
teracting law,  and  as  his  truth  Is  eternal,  this  law  must  remain 
stedfast. 

10.  Sending  out  springs  by  the  valleys,  which  shall  run  between^ 

the  hills. 

11.  All  the  beasts  of  the  field  shall  drink  thereof  :  the  wild  asses^ 

shall  quench^  their  thirst. 

12.  Nigh  them  the  foiols  of  the  air  shall  dwell,  from  the  midst  of 

the  branches  they  shall  send  out  their  voice.* 

1  In  our  English  version  it  is  among ;  but  between  is  the  more  proper 
rendering.  "  ^i^,"  says  Hammond,  "  must  be  rendered,  not  among  but 
between,  dvuf^iaov,  say  the  LXX.,  to  denote  the  hollow  receptacles  for 
waters  betwixt  the  hills,  or  risings  of  the  ground  on  both  sides." 

2  The  wild  ass  differs  from  the  tame  only  by  being  stronger  and 
nimbler,  more  courageous  and  lively.  Wild  asses  are  still  found  in 
considerable  numbers  in  the  deserts  of  Great  Tartary,  in  Persia,  Syria, 
the  islands  of  tlie  Archipelago,  and  throughout  Mauritania.  They  are 
gregarious,  and  have  been  known  to  assemble  by  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands. It  has  been  observed  of  these  animals  that,  though  dull  and 
stupid,  they  are  remai-kable  for  their  instinct  in  discovering  in  the  arid 
desert  the  way  to  rivers,  brooks,  or  fountains  of  water,  so  that  the  thirsty 
traveller  has  only  to  observe  and  follow  their  steps,  in  order  to  his  being 
led  to  the  cooling  stream. 

^  The  literal  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  word  "|-l2t^*^  yeshberu,  is  shall  break, 
being  derived  from  '■\2'C'i  shabar,  to  break.  As  applied  to  hunger,  it  must 
signify  to  allay,  or,  as  here,  to  thirst,  it  must  mean  to  quench.  The  phrase 
is  communicated  to  other  languages,  and  is  usual  among  us,  who,  by 
breaking  of  fasting,  understand  eating. 

*  "  '  From  between  these  boughs  or  leaves  the  fowls  of  the  air  send  out 
their  voice,'  not  by  singing  only,  (for  that  is  peculiar  to  few,)  but  by 


PSALM  CIV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  153 

13.  Watering  the  mountains  from  his  chambers  :  the  earth  shall 

be  satisfied  from  the  fruit  of  thy  ^  works. 

14.  Malcing  grass  to  grow  for  cattle,  and  herb  for  the  service  of 

man  :  that  he  may  produce  bread  out  of  the  earth, 

15.  And  wine  cheereth  the  heart  of  man,   to  make  his  face  to 

shine  with  oil,  and  bread  sustaineth  man's  heart.'' 

10.  Sending  out  springs  by  the  valleys.  The  Psalmist  here 
describes  another  instance  both  of  the  power  and  goodness  of 
God,  which  is,  that  he  makes  fountains  to  gush  out  in  the 
mountains,  and  to  run  down  through  the  midst  of  the  valleys. 
Although  it  is  necessary  for  the  earth  to  be  dry,  to  render  it 
a  fit  habitation  for  us,  yet,  unless  we  had  water  to  drink, 
and  unless  the  earth  opened  her  veins,  all  kinds  of  living 
creatures  would  perish.  The  prophet,  therefore,  speaks  in 
commendation  of  that  arrangement  by  which  the  earth, 
though  dry,  yet  supplies  us  with  water  by  its  moisture.  The 
word  D  vH^j  riechaliin,  which  I  have  rendered  springs^  is  by 
some  translated,  torrents  or  rivers ;  but  springs  is  more  appro- 
priate. In  the  same  sense  it  is  added  immediately  after,  that 
they  run  among  the  hills ;  and  yet,  it  is  scarcely  credible 
that  fountains  could  spring  forth  from  rocks  and  stony 
places.  But  here  it  may  be  asked,  why  the  prophet  says  that 
the  beasts  of  the  field  quench  their  thirst,  rather  than  men,  for 
whose  sake  the  world  was  created  ?  I  would  observe, 
in  reply,  that  he  obviously  spake  in  this  manner,  for  the 
purpose  of  enhancing  the  goodness  of  God,  who  vouchsafes 
to  extend  his  care  to  the  brute  creation,  yea,  even  to  the  ivild 
asses,  under  which  species  are  included  all  other  kinds  of  wild 


making  any  noise  that  is  proper  to  tliem." — Hammond.  On  the  10th, 
11th,  and  12th  verses,  Dimock  observes, — "  The  murmuring  brooks,  the 
great  number  of  beasts  and  cattle,  with  the  melodious  birds,  afford  a  most 
picturesque  scene  of  rural  delight." 

^  In  the  preceding  clause  God  is  spoken  of  in  the  third  person,  and 
here  in  the  second.  The  change  of  persons  from  the  second  to  the 
third,  and  from  the  third  to  the  second,  is  very  observable  throughout 
this  psalm. — See  page  143,  note. 

*  In  the  French  version  it  is,  "  Et  le  vin  qui  resjouit  le  coeur  de 
I'homme,  et  I'huile  pour  faire  reluire  sa  face,  et  le  pain  qui  soustient  le 
coeur  de  Thorame." — "And  wine  that  cheereth  the  heart  of  man,  and  oil 
to  make  his  face  to  shine,  and  bread  that  sustains  the  heart  of  man." 


154  COMMENTAHY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

beasts.  And  he  purposely  refers  to  desert  places,  that  each 
of  us  may  compare  with  them  the  more  pleasant,  and  the 
cultivated  parts  of  the  earth,  afterwards  mentioned.  Rivers 
run  even  through  great  and  desolate  wildernesses,  where 
the  wild  beasts  enjoy  some  blessing  of  God  ;  and  no  country 
is  so  barren  as  not  to  have  trees  growing  here  and  there,  on 
which  birds  make  the  air  to  resound  with  the  melody  of  their 
singing.  Since  even  those  regions  where  all  lies  waste  and 
uncultivated,  furnish  manifest  tokens  of  the  Divine  goodness 
and  power,  with  what  admiration  ought  we  to  regard  that 
most  abundant  supply  of  all  good  things,  which  is  to  be  seen 
in  cultivated  and  favourable  regions  ?  Surely  in  countries 
where  not  only  one  river  flows,  or  where  not  only  grass  grows 
for  the  feeding  of  wild  beasts,  or  Avhere  the  singing  of  birds 
is  heard  not  only  from  a  few  trees,  but  where  a  manifold  and 
varied  abundance  of  good  things  everywhere  presents  itself 
to  our  view,  our  stupidity  is  more  than  brutish,  if  our  minds, 
by  such  manifestations  of  the  goodness  of  God,  are  not  fixed 
in  devout  meditation  on  his  glory. 

The  same  subject  is  prosecuted  in  the  13th  verse,  where  it 
is  said  that  God  watereth  the  mountains  from  his  chambers.  It 
is  no  ordinary  miracle  that  the  mountains,  which  seem  to  be 
condemned  to  perpetual  drought,  and  which,  in  a  manner,  are 
suspended  in  the  air,  nevertheless  abound  in  pastures.  The 
prophet,  therefore,  justly  concludes  that  this  fruitfulness 
proceeds  from  nothing  else  but  the  agency  of  God,  who  is 
their  secret  cultivator.  Labour  cannot  indeed,  in  the  proper 
sense,  be  attributed  to  God,  but  still  it  is  not  without  reason 
applied  to  him,  for,  by  merely  blessing  the  earth  from  the 
place  of  his  repose,  he  works  more  efficaciously  than  if  all 
the  men  in  the  world  were  to  waste  themselves  by  incessant 
labour. 

14.  Making  grass  to  groio  for  cattle.  The  Psalmist  now 
comes  to  men,  of  whom  God  vouchsafes  to  take  a  special  care 
as  his  children.  After  having  spoken  of  the  brute  creation, 
he  declares,  that  corn  is  produced,  and  bread  made  of  it,  for 
the  nourishment  of  the  human  race  ;  and  he  mentions  in  ad- 


PSALM  CIV.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  155 

dition  to  this,  wine  and  oil,  two  things  which  not  only  supply 
the  need  of  mankind,  but  also  contribute  to  their  cheerful  en- 
joyment of  life.  Some  understand  the  Hebrew  word  rH^y^j 
ladbodath,  which  I  have  rendered  for  the  service,  to  denote 
the  labour  which  men  bestow  in  husbandry  ;  for  while  grass 
grows  on  the  mountains  of  itself,  and  without  human  labour, 
corn  and  herbs,  which  are  sown,  can  only  be  produced,  as  is 
well  known,  by  the  labour  and  sweat  of  men.  According  to 
them  the  meaning  is,  that  God  blesses  the  toil  of  men  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  fields.  But  this  being  too  strained  an  in- 
terpretation, it  is  better  to  understand  the  word  service,  in 
the  ordinary  sense  of  the  tei'm.  With  respect  to  the  word 
bread,  I  do  not  object  to  the  view  of  those  who  understand  it 
in  a  restricted  sense,  although  it  probably  includes  all  kinds 
of  food  ;  only  I  dislike  the  opinion  of  those  who  exclude 
bread.  There  is  no  force  in  the  reason  which  they  allege  for 
taking  this  view,  namely,  that  in  the  following  verse  another 
use  of  bread  is  added,  when  it  is  said,  that  it  strengthens  the 
heart  of  man ;  for  there  the  same  thing  is  expressed  in  dif- 
ferent words.  The  prophet,  in  stating  that  God  causeth  the 
earth  to  bring  forth  herbs  for  the  support  of  men,  intends  to 
say  that  the  earth  supplies  them  not  only  with  food  in  corn, 
but  also  with  other  herbs  and  fruits  ;  for  the  means  of  our 
sustenance  is  not  limited  exclusively  to  one  kind  of  food. 

15.  And  toine  thai  cheereth  the  heart  of  man.  In  these 
words  we  are  taught,  that  God  not  only  provides  for  men's 
necessity,  and  bestows  upon  them  as  much  as  is  sufficient  for 
the  ordinary  purposes  of  life,  but  that  in  his  goodness  he 
deals  still  more  bountifully  with  them  by  cheering  their  hearts 
with  wine  and  oil.  Nature  would  certainly  be  satisfied  with 
water  to  drink  ;  and  therefore  the  addition  of  wine  is  owing 
to  God's  superabundant  liberality.  The  expression,  and  oil 
to  7nake  his  face  to  shine,  has  been  explained  in  different  ways. 
As  sadness  spreads  a  gloom  over  the  countenance,  some  give 
this  exposition.  That  when  men  enjoy  the  commodities  of 
wine  and  oil,  their  faces  shine  with  gladness.  Some  with 
more  refinement  of  interpretation,  but  without  foundation, 


156  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

refer  this  to  lamps.  Others,  considering  the  letter  X3>  fnem^  to 
be  the  sign  of  the  comparative  degree,  take  the  meaning  to 
be,  that  wine  makes  men's  faces  shine  more  than  if  they  were 
anointed  with  oiL  But  the  prophet,  I  have  no  doubt,  speaks 
of  unguents,  intinaating  that  God  not  only  bestows  upon  men 
what  is  sufficient  for  their  moderate  use,  but  that  he  goes  be- 
yond this,  giving  them  even  their  delicacies. 

The  words  in  the  last  clause,  and  bread  that  sustains 
maris  heart,  I  interpret  thus  :  Bread  would  be  sufficient  to 
support  the  life  of  man,  but  God  over  and  above,  to  use  a 
common  expression,  bestows  upon  them  wine  and  oil.  The 
repetition  then  of  the  purpose  which  bread  serves  is  not  su- 
perfluous :  it  is  employed  to  commend  to  us  the  goodness 
of  God  in  his  tenderly  and  abundantly  nourishing  men  as  a 
kind-hearted  father  does  his  children.  For  this  reason,  it  is 
here  stated  again,  that  as  God  shows  himself  a  foster-father 
sufficiently  bountiful  in  providing  bread,  his  liberality  ap- 
pears still  more  conspicuous  in  giving  us  dainties. 

But  as  there  is  nothing  to  which  we  are  more  prone,  than 
to  abuse  God's  benefits  by  giving  way  to  excess,  the  more 
bountiful  he  is  towards  men,  the  more  ought  they  to  take 
care  not  to  pollute,  by  their  intemperance,  the  abundance 
which  is  presented  before  them.  Paul  had  therefore  good 
reason  for  giving  that  prohibition,  (Rom.  xiii.  14,)  "  Make  not 
provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil  the  lusts  thereof;"  for  if  we 
give  full  scope  to  the  desires  of  the  flesh,  there  will  be  no 
bounds.  As  God  bountifully  provides  for  us,  so  he  has 
appointed  a  law  of  temperance,  that  each  may  voluntarily 
restrain  himself  in  his  abundance.  He  sends  out  oxen 
and  asses  into  pastures,  and  they  content  themselves  with 
a  sufficiency ;  but  while  furnishing  us  with  more  than 
we  need,  he  enjoins  upon  us  an  observance  of  the  rules  of 
moderation,  that  we  may  not  voraciously  devour  his  bene- 
fits ;  and  in  lavishing  upon  us  a  more  abundant  supply  of  good 
things  than  our  necessities  require,  he  puts  our  moderation  to 
the  test.  The  proper  rule  with  respect  to  the  use  of  bodily 
sustenance,  is  to  partake  of  it  that  it  may  sustain,  but  not 
oppress  us.     The  mutual  communication  of  the  things  need- 


PSALM  CIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  157 

ful  for  the  support  of  the  body,  which  God  has  enjoined  upon 
us,  is  a  very  good  check  to  intemperance  ;  for  the  condition 
upon  which  the  rich  are  favoured  with  their  abundance  is, 
that  they  should  relieve  the  wants  of  their  brethren.  As  the 
prophet  in  this  account  of  the  divine  goodness  in  providence 
makes  no  reference  to  the  excesses  of  men,  we  gather  from 
his  words  that  it  is  lawful  to  use  wine  not  only  in  cases  of 
necessity,  but  also  thereby  to  make  us  merry.  This  mirth 
must  however  be  tempered  with  sobriety,  first,  that  men  may 
not  forget  themselves,  drown  their  senses,  and  destroy  their 
strength,  but  rejoice  before  their  God,  according  to  the  in- 
junction of  Moses,  (Lev.  xxiii.  40  ;)  and,  secondly,  that  they 
may  exhilarate  their  minds  under  a  sense  of  gratitude,  so  as 
to  be  rendered  more  active  in  the  service  of  God.  He  who 
rejoices  in  this  way  will  also  be  always  prepared  to  endure 
sadness,  whenever  God  is  pleased  to  send  it.  That  rule  of 
Paul  ought  to  be  kept  in  mind,  (Phil.  iv.  12,)  "  I  have  learned 
to  abound, — I  have  learned  to  suffer  want."  If  some  token 
of  the  divine  anger  is  manifest,  even  he  who  has  an  over- 
flowing abundance  of  all  kinds  of  dainty  food,  will  restrict 
himself  in  his  diet,  knowing  that  he  is  called  to  put  on  sack- 
cloth, and  to  sit  among  ashes.  Much  more  ought  he  whom 
poverty  compels  to  be  temperate  and  sober,  to  abstain  from 
such  delicacies.  In  short,  if  one  man  is  constrained  to  ab- 
stain from  wine  by  sickness,  if  another  has  only  vapid  wine, 
and  a  third  nothing  but  water,  let  each  be  content  with  his 
own  lot,  and  willingly  and  submissively  wean  himself  from 
those  gratifications  which  God  denies  him. 

The  same  remarks  apply  to  oil.  We  see  from  this  passage 
that  ointments  were  much  in  use  among  the  Jews,  as  well  as 
among  the  other  eastern  nations.  At  the  present  day,  it  is 
different  with  us,  who  rather  keep  ointments  for  medicinal 
purposes,  than  use  them  as  articles  of  luxury.  The  prophet, 
however,  says,  that  oil  also  is  given  to  men,  that  they  may 
anoint  themselves  therewith.  But  as  men  are  too  prone  to 
pleasure,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  law  of  temperance 
ought  not  to  be  separated  from  the  beneficence  of  God,  lest 
they  abuse  their  liberty  by  indulging  in  luxurious  excess. 


158  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

This  exception  must  always  be  added,  that  no  person  may 
take  encouragement  from  this  doctrine  to  licentiousness. 

Moreover,  when  men  have  been  carefully  taught  to 
bridle  their  lust,  it  is  important  for  them  to  know,  that 
God  permits  them  to  enjoy  pleasures  in  moderation,  where 
there  is  the  ability  to  provide  them ;  else  they  w^ill  never 
partake  even  of  bread  and  wine  with  a  tranquil  conscience ; 
yea,  they  will  begin  to  scruple  about  the  tasting  of  water, 
at  least  they  will  never  come  to  the  table  but  in  fearful- 
ness.  Meanwhile,  the  greater  part  of  the  world  will  waUoAv 
in  pleasures  without  discrimination,  because  they  do  not 
consider  what  God  permits  them  ;  for  his  fatherly  kind- 
ness should  be  to  us  the  best  mistress  to  teach  us  mode- 
ration. 

1 6.  T1ie  trees  of  Jehovah  ^  shall  he  satiated  ;  the  cedars  of  Le- 

banon, which  he  hath  planted  ; 

17.  For  there  the  birds  build  their  nests  :  the  stork,^  whose  dwell- 

ing is  the  fir-trees. 

1  "In  the  Septuagiut  it  is,  |y7i«  tov  -Tn^iov,  '  trees  of  the  field  ;'  they, 
therefore,  read  nb  '•vy  ;  and  inj**  being  a  name  of  the  Almighty,  when 

T  T      "  -: 

differently  pointed,  thus,  ntJ'j  was  afterwards  changed  to  mns  '  Jehovah,' 

as  the  text  now  is.  Theodoret  notices  in  his  time,  that  the  Hebrew,  and 
other  Greek  interpreters  of  it,  had  |t/A«  tov  >cvpiov,  '  trees  of  the  Lord.' 
So  was  the  Hebrew  in  Jerome's  time,  who  has  it  ligna  Domini.''' — Reeves' 
Collation,  ^x. 

2  HT'Dn?  chasidah,  the  original  word  for  the  stork,  is  from  iDPIi  pi^ty, 
beneficence,  because,  says  Bythner,  ''  the  stork  nourishes,  supports,  and 
carries  on  its  back,  when  weary,  its  aged  parents."  Storks  are  a  species 
of  birds  very  numei'ous  in  Palestine,  and  other  eastern  countries. 
Doubdan  thus  speaks  of  them  in  his  account  of  a  journey  from  Cana  to 
Nazareth  in  Galilee,  (p.  513,)  "  All  these  fields  were  so  filled  with  flocks  of 
storks,  that  they  .appeared  quite  white  with  them,  there  being  above  a 
thousand  in  each  flock,  and  when  they  rose  and  hovered  in  the  air  they 
seemed  like  clouds.  The  evening  they  rest  in  trees."  This  account  is 
confirmed  by  Dr  Shaw,  who  informs  us,  that  as  he  lay  at  anchor  near 
Mount  Carmel,  he  saw  "  three  flights  of  them,  some  of  Avhich  were  more 
open  and  scattered,  with  larger  intervals  between  them ;  others  were 
closer  and  more  compact,  as  iu  the  flight  of  wrens  and  other  birds,  each 
of  which  took  up  more  than  thi-ee  hours  in  passing  by  us,  extending  it- 
self at  the  same  time  more  than  half  a  mile  in  breadth." — See  his  Travels, 
vol.  ii.  p.  269.  The  stork  constructs  her  nest  with  exquisite  skill  of  dry 
twigs  of  trees  and  coarse  grass  from  the  marsh.  But  instead  of  confining 
herself  to  one  situation,  she  builds  it  sometimes  on  the  highest  parts  of 


PSALM  CIV.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  159 

18.    The  high  mountains  are  for  the  deer  ;^  and  the  rocJcs  are  a 
place  of  shelter  for  the  hedgehogs.'^ 

old  ruins  and  houses, — sometimes  in  the  canals  of  ancient  aqueducts, 
and  sometimes  on  the  tops  of  the  eastern  mosques  and  dwelling-houses  ; 
so  very  familiar  is  she  by  being  never  molested,  the  Mahometans  account- 
ing it  profane  to  kill,  or  even  to  hurt,  or  disturb  this  species  of  bird,  be- 
cause of  their  important  services  in  clearing  the  country  of  serpents,  and 
other  venomous  animals,  on  which  they  feed.  She  frequently  retires 
from  the  noise  and  bustle  of  the  town  to  the  adjacent  field,  selecting  the 
highest  tree  of  the  forest  on  which  to  build  her  nest,  and  always  pre- 
ferring the  fir,  when  it  is  equally  suitable  to  her  purpose. — Ibid.  vol. 
ii.  p.  272.  Harmer  remarks,  that  nT'Drii  cJicm'dah,  seems  to  signify  the 
heron  as  well  as  the  stork ;  and  Dr  Adam  Clarke  is  of  opinion,  that  the 
heron  is  here  meant,  conceiving  the  description  of  its  making  the  fir- 
tree  its  house,  as  other  birds  make  their  nests  in  the  cedars  of  Lebanon, 
to  be  more  agreeable  to  its  natural  history  than  to  that  of  the  stork  properly 
speaking.  He  farther  observes,  that  Aquila,  who  has  given  us  an  ancient 
Greek  translation  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  who  is  said  to  have  been 
exquisitely  skilled  in  the  original  language,  always  understood  the  cha- 
sidah  to  mean  the  lieron,  rattier  than  the  stork.  "  But,"  he  adds,  "  the 
two  species  resemble  each  other  so  much,  that  it  is  not  improbable  but 
one  Hebrew  word  stood  for  both,"  and  refers  to  Doubdan,  who  supposes 
that  storks  in  Palestine  roost  in  trees. — Harmer''s  Observations.,  \o\.  ii. 
p.  465,  and  vol.  iii.  p.  338. 

^  "  Ou,  chevreux.'- — Fr.  marg.  "  Or,  the  kids."  Calvin,  by  giving 
two  different  translations  of  the  original  word,  appears  to  have  been  at 
a  loss  as  to  the  animal  meant.  "  The  animal  here  intended,"  says 
Mant,  "  is  the  Ibex  or  Rock  Goat,  a  species  of  wild  goat,  deriving 
its  Hebrew  name  from  the  wonderful  manner  in  which  it  mounts  to  the 
top  of  the  highest  rocks,  to  which  quality  the  sacred  writers  allude  in  the 
other  two  passages  where  the  word  occurs  as  well  as  in  this. — See 
1  Sam.  xxiv.  3  ;  Job  xxxix.  1.  To  this  quality  natural  historians  bear 
abundant  witness.  Mr  Cox  thus  describes  the  action  of  the  Ibex,  in 
ascending  the  mountains  of  Switzerland : — '  He  mounts  a  perpendicular 
rock  of  fifteen  feet  at  three  leaps,  or  rather  three  successive  bounds  of 
five  feet  each.  It  does  not  seem  as  if  he  found  any  footing  on  the  rock, 
appearing  to  touch  it  merely  to  be  repelled,  like  an  elastic  substance 
striking  against  a  hard  body.  He  is  not  supposed  to  take  more  than 
three  successive  leaps  in  this  manner.  If  he  is  between  two  rocks  which 
are  near  each  other,  and  Avants  to  reach  the  top,  he  leaps  from  the  side 
of  one  rock  to  the  other  alternately,  till  he  has  obtained  the  summit.'" 

2  "  Ou,  connils." — Fr.  marg.  "  Or,  the  conies,  or  rabbits."  The 
Hebrew  name  of  this  animal,  |QtJ*,  shaphan.,  from  the  verbs  jst>^,  shapJian, 
or  |2D)  saphan.,  to  hide.,  seems  to  indicate  a  creature  of  a  timid  and 
harmless  disposition.  Feeble,  and  apprehensive  of  danger,  it  seeks  a 
shelter  among  the  fissures  of  the  rocks,  Avhere  it  may  be  concealed  from 
its  enemies.  To  this  circumstance  allusion  is  here  made  ;  and  it  is  also 
referred  to  by  Solomon,  (Prov.  xxx.  26,)  "  The  shaphans  are  but  a  feeble 
folk,  yet  make  they  their  houses  in  the  rocks."  It  is  evident  from 
these  words,  that  the  shaphan  is  gregarious.  What  particular  animal 
then  is  indicated  by  this  name  ?  Calvin,  from  giving  the  original  term, 
one  translation  in  the  text,  and  a  diff'erent  one  on  the  margin,  seems  to 
have  been  uncertain  as  to  the  species  of  animal  intended,  and  on  this  point 
considerable  variety  of  opinion  has  obtained.     Some  copies  of  the  Sep- 


160  COMMENTAEY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

16.  The  trees  of  Jehovah  shall  he  satiated.  The  Psalmist 
again  treats  of  God's  general  providence  in  cherishing  all  the 
parts  of  the  world.  In  the  first  place,  he  asserts,  that  by  the 
watering  of  which  he  had  spoken  the  trees  are  satiated,  or 
filled  with  sap,  that  thus  flourishing  they  may  be  a  place 
of  abode  to  the  birds.  He  next  declares,  that  the  wild  deer 
and  conies  have  also  their  places  of  shelter,  to  show  that  no 
part  of  the  world  is  forgotten  by  Him,  who  is  the  best  of 
fathers,  and  that  no  creature  is  excluded  from  his  care.  The 
transition  which  the  prophet  makes  from  men  to  trees  is  as 
if  he  had  said.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  if  God  so  bounti- 
fully nourishes  men  who  are  created  after  his  own  image, 
since  he  does  not  grudge  to  extend  his  care  even  to  trees. 
By  the  trees  of  the  Lord,  is  meant  those  Avhich  are  high  and  of 
surpassing  beauty ;  for  God's  blessing  is  more  conspicuous  in 
them.  It  seems  scarcely  possible  for  any  juice  of  the  earth 
to  reach  so  great  a  height,  and  yet  they  renew  their  foliage 
every  year. 


tuagint  have  hedgehogs,  and  others,  hares^  the  former  being  probablj^  the 
right  reading,  as  the  Vulgate  agrees  with  it.  Bochart  supposed  thejerioa, 
i)Y  jumping -711  ouse,  to  be  meant.  But  to  this  it  has  been  justly  objected, 
that  the  jeiboa  always  digs  its  habitation  in  the  smoother  places  of  the 
desert,  especially  where  the  soil  is  fixed  gi-avel ;  that  it  is  not  gregarious, 
nor  distinguished  by  feebleness,  which  it  supplies  by  its  wisdom.  Nor  can 
it  be  the  coney,  or  rabbit,  that  is  here  referred  to  ;  for,  instead  of  seeking 
a  habitation  among  the  rocks,  it  delights  to  burrow  in  the  saudj'  downs ; 
and  if  it  sometimes  digs  a  place  of  shelter  among  the  rocks,  it  is  only 
where  the  openings  are  filled  Avith  earth.  It  is  now  pretty  generally 
agreed,  that  the  shaphaii  is  the  Daman  Israel,  as  suggested  by  Dr  Shaw. 
"  The  Daman  Israel,"  says  this  traveller,  "  is  an  animal  likewise  of 
Mount  Lebanus,  though  common  in  other  places  of  this  country.  It  is 
a  harmless  creature,  of  the  same  size  and  quality  with  the  rabbit,  and 
with  the  like  incurvating  posture  and  disposition  of  the  fore-teeth.  But 
it  is  of  a  browner  colour  Avith  smaller  eyes,  and  a  head  more  pointed, 
like  the  marmots.  The  fore-feet  likewise  are  short,  and  the  hinder  are 
nearly  as  long  in  proportion  as  those  of  the  jerboa.  Though  this  animal 
is  known  to  bun-ow  sometimes  in  the  ground,  j'et  as  its  usual  residence 
and  refuge  is  in  the  holes  and  clifts  of  the  rocks,  we  have  so  far  a  more 
presumptive  proof,  that  this  creature  may  be  the  shaphan  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, than  the  jerboa.  I  could  not  learn  why  it  Avas  called  Daman  Israel, 
i.  e.,  Israel's  lamb,  as  those  Avords  are  interpreted."  Travels,  vol.  ii. 
pp.  160, 161.  It  is  called  in  Amhara,  "  Ashkoko."  Bruce  confirms  Dr 
Shaw's  opinion.  He  identifies  the  animals  b}^  the  several  other  parti- 
culars mentioned  in  Scripture,  as  Avell  as  by  their  attachment  to  rocks, 
and  their  constant  residence  in  holes  and  caves,  as  noticed  in  this  psalm. 
See  also  Paxton's  Illustrations  of  Scripture,  vol.  ii.  pp.  204-209. 


PSALM  CIV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  161 

19.  He  Jmth  appointed  the  moon  to  distinguish  seasons  :  the  sun 

knoweth  his  going  down. 

20.  Thou  makest  darkness,  and  it  is  night ;  icherein  all  the  beasts 

of  the  forest  creep  forth. 

21.  The  lions  roar  after  their  prey,  and  in  seeking  their  food 

from  God.^ 

22.  The  sun  shall  rise,  and  they  shall  gather  themselves  together, 

and  lie  down  in  their  dens.^ 

23.  Man  shall  go  forth  to  his  work,  and  to  his  labour,  until  the 

evening. 

19.  He  hath  appointed  the  moon  to  distinguish  seasons.  The 
Psalmist  now  comes  to  another  commendation  of  God's 
providence  as  manifested  in  the  beautiful  arrangement  by 
which  the  course  of  the  sun  and  moon  alternately  succeeds 
each  other;  for  the  diversity  in  their  mutual  changes  is 
so  far  from  producing  confusion,  that  all  must  easily  per- 
ceive the  impossibility  of  finding  any  better  method  of 
distinguishing  time.  When  it  is  said,  that  the  moon  was 
appointed  to  distinguish  seasons,  interpreters  agree  that  this 
is  to  be  understood  of  the  ordinary  and  appointed  feasts. 
The  Hebrews  having  been  accustomed  to  compute  their 
months  by  the  moon,  this  served  for  regulating  their  fes- 
tival days  and  assemblies,  both  sacred  and  political.^  The 
prophet,  I  have  no  doubt,   by  the  figure  synecdoche,  puts 

»  "  What  is  here  said  of  the  lions  peculiarly,  that  they  '  roar  after  their 
prey,  and  seek  their  meat  from  God,'  may  be  illustrated  by  wliat  is  ob- 
served of  those  creatures,  that  to  their  gi-eat  strength  and  greediness  and 
rapacity,  they  are  not  proportionably  provided  with  swiftness  of  body  to 
pursue  in  the  desert  those  beasts  on  which  they  prey,  nor  yet  so  quick- 
scented,  as  to  be  able  to  follow  and  trace  them  to  their  places  of  repose. 
It  hath  therefore  been  necessary  to  the  providing  for  these  animals,  that 
some  supply  should  be  made  to  these  defects  by  some  other  way.  And  it 
hath  been  affirmed  by  some,  that  their  very  roaring  is  useful  to  them  for 
this  end,  and  that  when  they  cannot  ovei'take  their  prey,  they  do  by  that 
fierce  noise  so  astonish  and  amaze  the  poor  beasts,  that  they  fall  down 
before  them.  If  this  have  that  truth,  which  it  professes  to  have,  it  gives 
a  clear  account  both  of  the  phrase  of  roaring  after  their  jyrey,  and  of  seek- 
ing it  fi-om  God — of  roaring,  as  being  able  to  do  nothing  else  toward  the 
getting  it,  but  only  thus  to  frighten  the  hearers,  and  express  his  own 
hunger  and  want." — Hammoiid. 

2  In  the  French  version  all  the  verbs  in  this  verse  are  translated  in 
the  present  tense. 

*  "  The  greatest  part  of  the  Jewish  feasts,  as  the  New  Moon,  the 
Passover,  the  Pentecost,  &c.,  were  governed  by  the  moon." — Dimock. 

VOL.  IV.  L 


162  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

a  part  for  the  whole,  intlmatiDg,  that  the  iroon  not  only  dis- 
tinguishes the  days  from  the  nights,  but  likewise  marks  out 
the  festival  days,  measures  years  and  months,  and,  in  fine, 
answers  many  useful  purposes,  inasmuch  as  the  distinction  of 
times  is  taken  from  her  course.  As  to  the  sentence,  The  sun 
hnoweth  his  going  down,  I  understand  it  not  only  of  his  daily 
circuit,  but  as  also  denoting  that  by  gradually  approaching 
nearer  us  at  one  time,  and  receding  farther  from  us  at  another, 
he  knows  how  to  regulate  his  movements  by  which  to  make 
summer,  winter,  spring,  and  autumn.  It  is  farther  stated, 
that  the  beasts  of  the  forest  creep  forth  during  the  night,  because 
they  go  out  of  their  dens  with  fear.  Some  translate  the  verb 
^t2r\,  ramas,  to  walk ;  but  its  proper  signification  which  I 
have  given  is  not  unsuitable  ;  for  although  hunger  often 
drives  wild  beasts  into  ftiry,  yet  they  ivatch  for  the  darkness 
of  the  night,  that  they  may  move  abroad  from  their  hiding- 
places,  and  on  account  of  this  fearfulness  they  are  said  to 
creep  forth. 

21.  The  lions  roar  after  their  prey.  Although  lions,  if 
hunger  compels  them,  go  forth  from  their  dens  and  roar 
even  at  noon-day,  y€t  the  prophet  describes  what  is  most 
usually  the  case.  He  therefore  says,  that  lions  do  not 
venture  to  go  abroad  during  the  daytime,  but  that,  trusting 
to  the  darkness  of  the  night,  they  then  sally  forth  in  quest 
of  their  prey.  Herein  is  manifested  the  wonderful  pro- 
vidence of  God,  that  a  beast  so  dreadful  confines  itself 
within  its  d^n,  that  men  may  walk  abroad  with  the  greater 
freedom.  And  if  lions  sometimes  range  with  greater  liberty, 
this  is  to  be  imputed  to  the  fall  of  Adam,  which  has  deprived 
men  of  their  dominion  over  the  wild  beasts.  There  are,  how- 
ever, still  some  remains  of  the  original  blessing  conferred  by 
God  on  men,  inasmuch  as  he  holds  in  check  So  many  wild 
beasts  by  the  light  of  day,  as  if  by  iron  cages  or  chains.  The 
expression.  They  seek  their  food  from  God,  is  not  to  be  un- 
derstood of  their  casting  themselves  upon  the  care  of  God, 
as  if  they  acknowledged  him  to  be  their  foster-father,  but  it 
points  out  the  fact  itself,  that  God  in  a  wonderful  manner 
provides  food  for  such  ravenous  beasts. 


PSALM  CIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  163 

22.  The  sun  shall  rise.  The  Psalmist  continues  to  prose- 
cute the  same  subject,  showing  that  God  so  distributes  the 
successions  of  time,  as  that  the  day  belongs  properly  to  man. 
Did  not  God  put  a  restraint  upon  so  many  wild  beasts  which 
are  hostile  to  us,  the  human  race  would  soon  become  extinct. 
As  wild  beasts  since  the  fall  of  man  may  seem  to  be  born  to 
do  us  hurt,  and  to  rend  and  tear  in  pieces  all  whom  they 
meet  with,  this  savage  cruelty  must  be  kept  under  check  by 
the  providence  of  God.  And  in  order  to  keep  them  shut 
up  within  their  dens,  the  only  means  which  he  employs 
is  to  inspire  them  with  terror,  simply  by  the  light  of  the 
sun.  This  instance  of  divine  goodness,  the  prophet  com- 
mends the  more  on  account  of  its  necessity ;  for  were  it 
otherwise,  men  would  have  no  liberty  to  go  forth  to 
^engage  in  the  labours  and  business  of  life.  Man  being  thus 
protected  by  the  light  against  the  violence  and  injuries  of 
wild  beasts,  in  this  is  to  be  seen  the  unparalleled  goodness  of 
God,  who  in  so  fatherly  a  manner  has  provided  for  his  con- 
venience and  welfare. 


24.  0  Jehovah  !  how  magnificent  are  thy  works  !  thou  hast  made 

all  things  in  wisdom  :  the  earth  is  full  of  thy  riches. 

25.  Great  is  this  sea,  and  wide  in  extent ;  therein  are  things  creep- 

ing innumerable,  both  small  and  great  animals. 

26.  There  go  the  ships  :^  and  the  leviathan,  which  thou  hast  made 

to  sport  itself  in  it. 

24.   O  Jehovah  !  how  magnificent  are  thy  toorhs  !     The  pro- 

1  Fry  reads  in  the  text,  "  There  pass  the  ships,"  and  at  the  foot  of 
the  page,  "  There  go  the  whales."  "  I  cannot,"  says  he,  "  but  indulge  a 
conjecture  in  this  place,  that  either  the  word  we  translate  ships  had 
anciently  another  meaning,  and  signified  some  aquatic  animal ;  or  that 
for  nr3Ki  we  should  read  a'>3'»3n  or  }''Jn  :  compare  Gen.  i.  21,  '  And  God 
created  great  whales,  c'pnjn  D^yjrii  and  every  living  creature  that 
moveth,  nTin  nC;^'D"in,  which  the  waters  brought  forth  abundantly  after 
their  kind.'  It  has,  however,  been  thought  by  some,  that  not  whales, 
but  some  large  marine  animals,  known  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  are  intended  by  the  term." — "  The  first  line  of  this  verse,"  says 
Dimock,  "  should  probably  be  read  in  a  parenthesis,  if  it  is  not  an  inter- 
polation ;  and  the  gi-ammatical  construction  requu'es  that  we  should 
read  jiD^n.  That  wonderful  piece  of  mechanism,  a  ship,  whereby  man 
becomes  the  lord  of  the  sea,  seems  to  have  been  originally  constructed 
under  the  divine  direction. — See  Gen.  vi.  14." 


164  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

phet  does  not  make  a  full  enumeration  of  the  works  of  God, 
which  would  be  an  endless  task,  but  only  touches  upon  certain 
particulars,  that  every  one  may  be  led  from  the  consideration 
of  them  to  reflect  the  more  attentively  on  that  wisdom  by 
which  God  governs  the  whole  world,  and  every  particular 
part  of  it.  Accordingly,  breaking  off  his  description,  he  ex- 
claims with  admiration, — How  greatly  to  he  praised  are  thy 
works!  even  as  we  then  only  ascribe  to  God  due  honour 
when  seized  with  astonishment,  we  acknowledge  that  our 
tongues  and  all  our  senses  fail  us  in  doing  justice  to  so  great 
a  subject.  If  a  small  portion  of  the  works  of  God  make  us 
amazed,  how  inadequate  are  our  feeble  minds  to  comprehend 
the  whole  extent  of  them !  In  the  first  place,  it  is  said,  that 
God  has  made  all  things  in  wisdom,  and  then  it  is  added,  that 
the  earth  is  full  of  his  riches.  The  mention  of  wisdom  only  is, 
not  intended  to  exclude  the  divine  power,  but  the  meaning 
is,  that  there  is  nothing  in  the  world  confused, — that,  so  far 
from  this,  the  vast  variety  of  things  mixed  together  in  it  are 
arranged  with  the  greatest  wisdom,  so  as  to  render  it  impos- 
sible for  any  thing  to  be  added,  abstracted,  or  improved. 
This  commendation  is  set  in  opposition  to  the  unhallowed 
imaginations,  which  often  creep  upon  us  when  we  are  unable 
to  discover  the  designs  of  God  in  his  works,  as  if  indeed  he 
were  subject  to  folly  like  om^selves,  so  as  to  be  forced  to  bear 
the  reprehension  of  those  who  are  blind  in  the  considera- 
tion of  his  works.  The  prophet  also,  by  the  same  eulogium, 
reproves  the  madness  of  those  who  dream,  that  the  world  has 
been  brought  into  its  present  form  by  chance,  as  Epicurus 
raved  about  the  elements  being  composed  of  atoms.  As  it  is 
an  imagination  more  than  irrational  to  suppose,  that  a  fabric 
so  elegant,  and  of  such  surpassing  embellishment,  was  put 
together  by  the  fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms,  the  prophet 
here  bids  us  attend  more  carefully  to  the  wisdom  of  God,  and 
to  that  wonderful  skill  which  shines  forth  in  the  whole  govern- 
ment of  the  world.  Under  riches  are  comprehended  the 
goodness  and  beneficence  of  God  ;  for  it  is  not  on  his  own  ac- 
count that  he  has  so  richly  replenished  the  earth  but  on  ours, 
that  nothing  which  contributes  to  our  advantage  may  be 
wanting.     We  ought  to  know,  that  the  earth  does  not  pos- 


PSALM  CIV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  165 

sess  such  fruitfulness  and  riches  of  itself,  but  solely  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  who  makes  it  the  means  of  administering  to 
us  his  bounty. 

25.  Great  is  this  sea,  and  wide  in  extent.  After  having  treated 
of  the  evidences  which  the  earth  affords  of  the  glory  of  God, 
the  prophet  goes  down  into  the  sea,  and  teaches  us  that  it  is 
a  new  mirror  in  which  may  be  beheld  the  divine  power  and 
wisdom.  Although  the  sea  were  not  inhabited  by  fishes, 
yet  the  mere  view  of  its  vastness  would  excite  our  wonder, 
especially  when  at  one  time  it  swells  with  the  winds  and 
tempests,  while  at  another  it  is  calm  and  unruffled.  Again, 
although  navigation  is  an  art  which  has  been  acquired  by  the 
skill  of  men,  yet  it  depends  on  the  providence  of  God,  who 
has  granted  to  men  a  passage  through  the  mighty  deep. 
But  the  abundance  and  variety  of  fishes  enhance  in  no  small 
degree  the  glory  of  God  in  the  sea.  Of  these  the  Psalmist 
celebrates  especially  the  leviathan  or  the  whale^  because  this 
animal,  though  there  were  no  more,  presents  to  our  view  a 
sufficient,  yea,  more  than  a  sufficient,  proof  of  the  dreadful 
power  of  God,  and  for  the  same  reason,  we  have  a  lengthened 
account  of  it  in  the  book  of  Job.  As  its  movements  not  only 
throw  the  sea  into  great  agitation,  but  also  strike  with  alarm 
the  hearts  of  men,  the  prophet,  by  the  word  sporty  intimates 
that  these  its  movements  are  only  sport  in  respect  of  God  ; 
as  if  he  had  said.  The  sea  is  given  to  the  leviathans,  as  a 
field  in  which  to  exercise  themselves. 

27.  All  things  wait  upon  thee,  that  thou  may  est  give  them  food  in 

their  season, 

28.  Thou  shalt  give  it  to  them,  and  they  shall  gather  it :  thou 

shalt  open  thy  hand,  and  they  shall  he  filled  [or  satisfied^ 
with  good. 

^  The  leviathan,  which  is  described  at  large  in  Job  xl.,  is  now  ge- 
nerally understood  by  commentators  to  be  not  the  whale,  but  the  croco^ 
dile,  an  inhabitant  of  the  Nile.  That  it  should  here  be  numbered  with 
the  marine  animals,  need  not  surprise  us,  as  the  object  of  the  divine  poet 
is  merely  to  display  the  kingdom  of  the  watery  icorld.  Of  these  wide 
domains  the  sea  of  the  Nile  forms,  in  his  view,  a  part.  "  q^  transfertur 
ad  omnia  fluminamajora.  Est  igitnr  in  specie  Nilus.  Jes.  xix.  5  ;  Nah. 
iii.  8." — Sim.  Lex.  Heb. — See  vol.  iii.  p.  175,  n.  1. 


166  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

29.  Thou  shalt  hide  thy  face,  and  they  shall  be  afraid  :  thou 

shalt  take  away  their  spirit,  and  they  shall  die,  and  return 
to  their  dust. 

30.  2'hou  shalt  send  forth  thy  spirit,  and  they  shall  he  created  : ' 

and  thou  shalt  renew  the  face  of  the  earth. 

27.  All  these  wait  upon  thee.  The  prophet  here  again  de- 
scribes God  as  acting  the  part  of  the  master  of  a  household, 
and  a  foster-father  towards  all  sorts  of  living  creatures,  by 
providing  liberally  for  them.  He  had  said  before,  that  God 
made  food  to  grow  on  the  mountains  for  the  support  of  cattle, 
and  that  sustenance  is  ministered  to  the  very  lions  by  the 
hand  of  the  same  God,  although  they  live  upon  prey.  Now 
he  amplifies  this  wonder  of  the  divine  beneficence  by  an  ad- 
ditional circumstance.  While  the  different  species  of  living 
creatures  are  almost  innumerable,  and  the  number  in  each 
species  is  so  great,  there  is  yet  not  one  of  them  which  does 
not  stand  in  need  of  daily  food.  The  meaning  then  of  the 
expression.  All  things  wait  upon  thee^  is,  that  they  could  not 
continue  in  existence  even  for  a  few  days,  unless  God  were 
to  supply  their  daily  need,  and  to  nourish  each  of  them  in 
particular.  We  thus  see  why  there  is  so  great  a  diversity  of 
fruits ;  for  God  assigns  and  appoints  to  each  species  of  living 
creatures  the  food  suitable  and  proper  for  them.  The  brute 
beasts  are  not  indeed  endued  with  reason  and  judgment  to 
seek  the  supply  of  their  w^ants  from  God,  but  stooping  to- 
wards the  earth,  they  seek  to  fill  themselves  with  food ;  still 
the  prophet  speaks  with  propriety,  when  he  represents  them 
as  waiting  upon  God ;  for  their  hunger  must  be  relieved  by 
his  bounty,  else  they  would  soon  die.  Nor  is  the  specifica- 
tion of  the  season  when  God  furnishes  them  with  food  super- 
fluous, since  God  lays  up  in  store  for  them,  that  they 
may  have  the  means  of  sustenance  during  the  whole  course 
of  the  year.  As  the  earth  in  winter  shuts  up  her  bowels, 
what  would  become  of  them  if  he  did  not  provide  them 
with  food  for  a  long  time  ?  The  mira,cle,  then,  is  the  greater 
from  the    circumstance,    that  God,  by    making  the    earth 


1  "  This  alludes  to  Gen.  i.  2,  as  the  GOHtinual  suecession  of  things  is  a 
kind  of  creation." — Dimock. 


rSALM  CIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  167 

fruitful  at  stated  seasons,  extends  in  this  way  his  blessing  to 
tlie  rest  of  the  year  which  threatens  us  with  hunger  and  fa- 
mine. How  wretched  would  we  be  when  the  earth  in  winter 
shuts  up  her  riches,  were  not  our  hearts  cheered  with  the 
hope  of  a  new  increase  ?  In  this  sense,  the  Psalmist  appro- 
priately affirms,  that  God  oj)ens  his  hand.  If  wheat  should 
grow  up  daily,  God's  providence  would  not  be  so  manifest. 
But  when  the  earth  becomes  barren,  it  is  as  if  God  shut  his 
hand.  Whence  it  follows,  that  when  he  makes  it  fruitful,  he, 
so  to  speak,  stretches  out  his  hand  from  heaven  to  give  us 
food.  Now  if  he  supply  Avild  and  brute  beasts  with  susten- 
ance in  due  season,  by  which  they  are  fed  to  the  full,  his 
blessing  will  doubtless  be  to  us  as  an  inexhaustible  source  of 
plenty,  provided  we  ourselves  do  not  hinder  it  from  flowing 
to  us  by  our  unbelief. 

29.  Thou  shalt  hide  thy  face,  and  they  shall  he  afraid.  In 
these  words,  the  Psalmist  declares,  that  we  stand  or  fall  ac- 
cording to  the  will  of  God.  We  continue  to  live,  so  long  as 
he  sustains  us  by  his  power ;  but  no  sooner  does  he  withdraw 
his  life-giving  spirit  than  we  die.  Even  Plato  knew  this, 
who  so  often  teaches  that,  properly  speaking,  there  is  but  one 
God,  and  that  all  things  subsist,  or  have  their  being  only  in 
him.  Nor  do  I  doubt,  that  it  was  the  will  of  God,  by  means 
of  that  heathen  writer,  to  awaken  all  men  to  the  knowledge, 
that  they  derive  their  life  from  another  source  than  from 
themselves.  In  the  first  place,  the  Psalmist  asserts,  that  if 
God  hide  his  face  they  are  afraid ;  and,  secondly,  that  if  he 
take  away  their  spirit  they  die,  and  return  to  their  dust;  by 
which  words  he  points  out,  that  when  God  vouchsafes  to 
look  upon  us,  that  look  gives  us  life,  and  that  as  long  as  his 
serene  countenance  shines,  it  inspires  all  the  creatures  with 
life.  Our  blindness  then  is  doubly  inexcusable,  if  we  do  not 
on  our  part  cast  our  eyes  upon  that  goodness  which  gives 
life  to  the  whole  world.  The  prophet  describes  step  by  step  the 
destruction  of  living  creatures,  upon  God's  withdrawing  from 
them  his  secret  energy,  that  from  the  contrast  he  may  the 
better  commend  that  continued  inspiration,  by  which  all 
things  are  maintained  in  life  and  vigour.     He  could  have 


168  COMMENTARY  UrON  PSALM  CIV. 

gone  farther,  and  have  asserted,  that  all  things,  unless  upheld 
in  being  by  God,  would  return  to  nothing ;  but  he  was  con- 
tent with  affirming  In  general  and  popular  language,  that 
whatever  is  not  cherished  by  Him  falls  into  corruption.  He 
again  declares,  that  the  world  is  daily  reneiced,  because  God 
sendeth  forth  his  spirit.  In  the  propagation  of  living  crea- 
tures, we  doubtless  see  continually  a  new  creation  of  the 
world.  In  now  calling  that  God's  spirit,  which  he  before 
represented  as  the  spirit  of  living  creatures,  there  is  no  con- 
tradiction. God  sendeth  forth  that  spirit  which  remains  with 
him  whither  he  pleases ;  and  as  soon  as  he  has  sent  it  forth, 
all  things  are  created.  In  this  way,  what  was  his  own  he 
makes  to  be  ours.  But  this  gives  no  countenance  to  the  old 
dream  of  the  Manicheeans,  which  that  filthy  dog  Servetus  has 
made  still  worse  in  our  own  day.  The  Manlchaeans  said  that 
the  soul  of  man  Is  a  particle  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  is  pro- 
pagated from  it  as  the  shoot  of  a  tree ;  but  this  base  man  has 
had  the  audacity  to  assert,  that  oxen,  asses,  and  dogs,  are  parts 
of  the  divine  essence.  The  Manlchees  at  least  had  this  pre- 
text for  their  error,  that  the  soul  was  created  after  the  Image 
of  God  ;  but  to  maintain  this  with  respect  to  swine  and  cattle, 
is  In  the  highest  degree  monstrous  and  detestable.  Nothing 
was  farther  from  the  prophet's  intention,  than  to  divide  the 
spirit  of  God  into  parts,  so  that  a  portion  of  it  should  dwell 
essentially  in  every  living  creature.  But  he  termed  that  the 
spirit  of  God  which  proceeds  from  him.  By  the  way,  he  in- 
structs us,  that  it  is  ours,  because  it  is  given  us,  that  it  may 
quicken  us.  The  amount  of  what  is  stated  Is,  that  when  we 
see  the  world  daily  decaying,  and  daily  renewed,  the  life- 
giving  power  of  God  is  reflected  to  us  herein  as  In  a  mirror. 
All  the  deaths  which  take  place  among  living  creatures,  are 
just  so  many  examples  of  our  nothingness,  so  to  speak ;  and 
when  others  are  produced  and  grow  up  In  their  room,  we 
have  in  that  presented  to  us  a  renewal  of  the  world.  Since 
then  the  world  daily  dies,  and  Is  daily  renewed  in  its  various 
parts,  the  manifest  conclusion  Is,  that  it  subsists  only  by  a 
secret  virtue  derived  from  God. 

31.  Glory  he  to  Jehovah  for  ever :  let  Jehovah  rejoice  in  his  icorJcs. 


rSALM  CIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  169 

32.  When  he  looJceth  upon  the  earth,  it  shall  tremble  :  if  he  touch 

the  mountains,  they  shall  smoke. ^ 

33.  /  icill   sing  to  Jehovah  whilst  I  live  :   I  will  sing  psalms  to 

my  God  as  long  as  I  have  my  being. ^ 

34.  Let  my  speech  [or  words^^  be  acceptable  to  him:*  I  will  re- 

joice in  Jehovah. 

35.  Let  sinners  perish  from  the  earth,  and  the  wicked  till  they 

cease  to  be  any  more.      0  my  sotd  !  bless  thou  Jehovah. 
Halleluiah. 

31.  Glory  be  to  Jehovah  for  ever.  The  inspired  writer" 
shows  for  what  purpose  he  has  celebrated  in  the  preceding 
part  of  the  psahn  the  power,  wisdom,  and  goodness  of  God 
in  his  works,  namely,  to  stir  up  men  to  praise  him.  It  is  no 
small  honour  that  God  for  our  sake  has  so  magnificently 
adorned  the  world,  in  order  that  we  may  not  only  be  spec- 
tators of  this  beauteous  theatre,  but  also  enjoy  the  multiplied 
abundance  and  variety  of  good  things  which  are  presented 
to  us  in  it.  Our  gratitude  in  yielding  to  God  the  praise 
which  is  his  due,  is  regarded  by  him  as  a  singular  recom- 
pense. What  the  Psalmist  adds.  Let  Jehovah  rejoice  in  his 
works,  is  not  superfluous  ;  for  he  desires  that  the  order  which 
God  has  established  from  the  beginning  may  be  continued  in 
the  lawful  use  of  his  gifts.  As  we  read  in  Gen.  vi.  6,  that  "it 
repented  the  Lord  that  he  had  made  man  on  the  earth,"  so 
when  he  sees  that  the  good  things  which  he  bestows  are  polluted 
by  our  con-uptions,  he  ceases  to  take  delight  in  bestowino* 
them.     And  certainly  the  confusion  and  disorder  which  take 

1  "_  They  smoke.   Gejerus,  Patrick,  &c.,  refer  this  toExod.  xix.  18.    But 
may  it  not  have  respect  also  to  volcanic  mountains  in  general  ?" — Dimock. 

2  "  Through  the  whole  of  my  existence,  n"iy2,/o'"  my  perpetuality. — See 
the  word  used  in  the  same  sense,  Ps.  cxxxix.  18." — Horsley. 

^  "  Ou,  meditation." — Fr.  marg.  "  Or,  meditation." 
*  In  our  English  Bible  it  is,  "  My  meditation  of  him  shall  be  sweet." 
As  the  prefix  'py,  a/,  signifies  to,  as  well  as  on,  it  may  be  doubtful  whe- 
ther vpy  should  be  rendci  cd  to  him  or  on  him.  If  in  the  latter  sense,  our 
English  version  is  correct,  "  My  meditation  of  or  on  him  shall  be  sweet ;" 
and  with  this  the  last  clause  of  the  verse  would  well  accord,  "  I  will  be  glad 
in  the  Lord,"  which  is  an  eff"ect  of  the  sweetness  felt  in  meditating  upon 
him.  But  all  the  ancient  versions  give  the  former  rendering,  according 
to  these  words  in  Ps.  xix.  14,  "  Let  the  meditation  of  my  heart  be 
acceptable  in  thy  sight."  Thus  the  Septuagint  has  iiovu^iin  otvru,  "  Let 
it  be  sweet  to  him,"  and  similar  is  the  rendering  in  tlie  other  versions. 


170  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIV. 

place,  when  the  elements  cease  to  perform  their  office,  testify 
that  God,  displeased  and  wearied  out,  is  provoked  to  discon- 
tinue, and  put  a  stop  to  the  regular  course  of  his  beneficence  ; 
although  anger  and  impatience  have  strictly  speaking  no  place 
in  his  mind.  What  is  here  taught  is,  that  he  bears  the  char- 
acter of  the  best  of  fathers,  who  takes  pleasure  in  tenderly 
cherishing  his  children,  and  in  bountifully  nourishing  them. 
In  the  following  verse  it  is  shown,  that  the  stability  of  the 
world  depends  on  this  rejoicing  of  God  in  his  works  ;  for  did 
*he  not  give  vigour  to  the  earth  by  his  gracious  and  fatherly 
regard,  as  soon  as  he  looked  upon  it  with  a  severe  countenance, 
he  would  make  it  tremble,  and  would  burn  up  the  very 
mountains. 

33.  I  will  sing  to  Jehovah  whilst  I  live.  Here  the  Psalm- 
ist points  out  to  others  their  duty  by  his  own  example,  de- 
claring, that  throughout  the  whole  course  of  his  life  he  will 
proclaim  the  praises  of  God  without  ever  growing  weary  of 
that  exercise.  The  only  boundary  which  he  fixes  to  the  ce- 
lebration of  God's  praises  is  death ;  not  that  the  saints,  when 
they  pass  from  this  world  into  another  state  of  existence,  de- 
sist from  this  religious  duty,  but  because  the  end  for  which 
we  are  created  is,  that  the  divine  name  may  be  celebrated  by  us 
on  the  earth.  Conscious  of  his  un worthiness  to  offer  to  God  so 
pi'ecious  a  sacrifice,  he  humbly  prays,  (verse  34,)  that  the 
praises  which  he  loill  sing  to  God  may  he  acceptable  to  him,  al- 
though they  proceed  from  polluted  lips.  It  is  true,  that  there 
is  nothing  more  acceptable  to  God,  nor  any  thing  of  which 
he  more  approves,  than  the  publication  of  his  praises,  even  as 
there  is  no  service  which  he  more  pecuHarly  requires  us  to 
perform.  But  as  our  uncleanness  defiles  that  which  in  its 
own  nature  is  most  holy,  the  prophet  with  good  reason  be- 
takes himself  to  the  goodness  of  God,  and  on  this  ground 
alone  pleads  that  He  would  accept  of  his  song  of  praise.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  Apostle,  in  Heb.  xiii.  15,  teaches  that  our  sacri- 
fices of  thanksgiving  are  well  pleasing  to  God,  when  they 
are  offered  to  him  through  Christ.  It  being  however  the 
case,  that  whilst  all  men  indiscriminately  enjoy  the  benefits  of 
God,  there  are  yet  very  few  who  look  to  the  author  of  them-, 


PSALM  CV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  171 

the  prophet  subjoins  the  clause,  I  will  rejoice  in  the  Lord ;  in- 
timating, that  this  is  a  rare  virtue  ;  for  nothing  is  more  dif- 
ficult than  to  call  home  the  mind  from  those  wild  and  erratic 
joys,  which  disperse  themselves  through  heaven  and  earth  in 
which  they  evanish,  that  it  may  keep  itself  fixed  on  God 
alone. 

35.  Let  sinners  perish  from  the  earth.  This  imprecation  de- 
pends on  the  last  clause  of  the  31st  verse.  Let  Jehovah  rejoice 
in  his  works.  As  the  wicked  infect  the  world  with  their  pol- 
lutions, the  consequence  is,  that  God  has  less  delight  in  his 
own  workmanship,  and  is  even  almost  displeased  with  it.  It 
is  impossible,  but  that  this  uncleanness,  which,  being  ex- 
tended and  diffused  through  every  part  of  the  world,  vitiates 
and  corrupts  such  a  noble  product  of  his  hands,  must  be 
offensive  to  him.  Since  then  the  wicked,  by  their  perverse 
abuse  of  God's  gifts,  cause  the  world  in  a  manner  to  dege- 
nerate and  fall  away  from  its  first  original,  the  prophet  justly 
desires  that  they  may  be  exterminated,  until  the  race  of  them 
entirely  fail.  Let  us  then  take  care  so  to  weigh  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  as  that  being  wholly  devoted  to  obeying  him, 
we  may  rightly  and  purely  use  the  benefits  which  he  sancti- 
fies for  our  enjoying  them.  Farther,  let  us  be  grieved,  that 
such  precious  treasures  are  wickedly  squandered  away,  and 
let  us  regard  it  as  monstrous  and  detestable,^  that  men  not 
only  forget  their  Maker,  but  also,  as  it  were,  purposely  turn 
to  a  perverse  and  an  unworthy  end,  whatever  good  things  he 
has  bestowed  upon  them. 


PSALM  CV. 

The  Psalmist  magnifies  the  singular  grace  of  God  displayed  in  selecting 
and  freely  adopting  one  people  from  amongst  all  nations  of  the  world. 
To  show  that  it  was  not  in  word  only  that  he  had  made  a  covenant 
with  Abraham  and  his  otfsprmg,  God  did  not  cease,  after  having  de- 
livered them  from  Egypt,  to  confer  upon  them  innumerable  benefits  j 


172  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

and  his  design  in  this  was,  that  those  who  had  been  delivered  might 
on  their  part  faithfully  keep  his  covenant,  and  devote  themselves 
unfeignedly  to  his  service. ' 

1.  Praise  ye  Jehovah  ;  invoke  his  name  :  announce  his  works 

among  the  peoples. 

2.  Sing  ye  to  him  :  sing  psalms  to  him  :  speak  ye  of  all  his 

wonders. 

3.  Rejoice  ye  in  his  holy  name  ;^  let  the  heart  of  those  who  seek 

Jehovah  rejoice. 

4.  Seek  ye  Jehovah,  and  his  strength  :  seek  his  face  continually. 

5.  Remember  the  marvellous  loorks  which  he  hath  performed  ; 

his  wonders,  and  the  judgments  of  his  mouth. 

1.  Praise  ye  Jehovah,  ^c.  The  object  of  these  opening 
words  simply  is,  that  the  offspring  of  Abraham  should  place 
all  their  blessedness  in  the  free  adoption  of  God.  It  was  in- 
deed a  blessing  not  to  be  despised  that  they  had  been  created 
men,  that  they  had.  been  cherished  in  the  world  by  God's 
fatherly  care,  and  that  they  had  received  sustenance  at  his 
hand  ;  but  it  was  a  far  more  distinguished  privilege  to  have 
been  chosen  to  be  his  peculiar  people.  While  the  whole 
human  race  are  condemned  in  Adam,  the  condition  of  the 
Israelites  was  so  different  from  all  other  nations,  as  to  give 
them  ground  to  boast,  that  they  were  consecrated  to  God. 
This  is  the  reason  why  the  prophet  heaps  together  so  many 
words  in  commendation  of  this  grace.     He  does  not  treat  of 


'  This  psalm  has  no  title  in  the  Hebrew  or  Chaldee,  but  in  the  Vulgate, 
Septuagint,  iEthiopic,  and  Arabic  versions,  the  halleluiah  which  concludes 
the  preceding  psalm  is  prefixed  as  the  inscription.  The  first  fifteen  verses 
correspond  with  the  first  part  of  a  song  of  thanksgiving,  which  David 
composed  to  be  sung  after  the  ark  had  been  brought  from  Obed-edom  to 
Zion. — See  1  Chron.  xv.  8-22.  Hence  some  conclude,  that  David  was 
its  inspired  penman,  and  that  he  probably  enlarged  it  at  some  subsequent 
period  of  his  historj'^,  that  it  might  supply  a  more  complete  commemora- 
tion of  God's  signal  and  extraordinary  goodness  towards  the  Israelites 
from  the  days  of  Abraham  to  their  final  settlement  in  the  land  of  Canaan ; 
while  others  conclude,  that  it  was  enlarged  by  some  Hebrew  bard,  at 
the  restoration  of  the  Jews  from  the  Babylonish  captivity.  This  psalm 
bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  78th,  as  well  in  the  subject  as  in  the 
style,  except  perhaps  that  the  diction  here  is  rather  of  a  more  simple 
cast. 

2  In  the  French  version  it  is,  "  Praise  ye  his  holy  name."  Hammond, 
agi-ecably  to  this,  would  read,  "  Praise  ye  the  name  of  his  holiness ;" 
thinking  that  3,  beth,  in.,  is  a  pleonasm. 


PSALM  CV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  173 

the  government  of  the  whole  world  as  he  did  in  the  preced- 
ing psalm,  but  he  celebrates  the  fatherly  favour  which  God 
had  manifested  towards  the  children  of  Israel.  He  indeed 
names  in  general  his  works,  and  his  wonders,  but  he  limits  both 
to  that  spiritual  covenant  by  which  God  made  choice  of  a 
church,  that  might  lead  on  earth  a  heavenly  life.  He  does 
not  intend  to  include  as  among  these  Avonders,  that  the  sun, 
moon,  and  stars,  daily  rise  to  give  light  to  the  world,  that 
the  earth  produces  its  fruit  in  its  seasons,  that  every  living 
creature  is  supplied  with  abundance  of  all  good  things  for  its 
food,  and  that  the  human  family  are  liberally  provided  with 
so  many  conveniences ;  but  he  celebrates  the  sovereign  grace 
of  God,  by  which  he  chose  for  himself  from  amongst  the  lost 
race  of  Adam  a  small  portion  to  whom  he  might  show  himself 
to  be  a  father.  Accordingly,  he  enjoins  them  to  rejoice  in  the 
name  of  God,  and  to  call  upon  him ;  a  privilege  by  which  the 
Church  alone  is  distinguished.  Whence  it  follows,  that  this 
language  is  addressed  to  none  but  true  believers,  whom  God 
would  have  to  glory  in  his  name,  since  he  has  taken  them 
under  his  special  protection. 

4.  Seek  ye  Jehovah,  and  his  strength}  Although  he  had  in 
the  preceding  verse  characterised  the  faithful  by  the  honour- 
able designation,  those  who  seek  God,  yet  he  again  exhorts 
them  to  earnestness  in  seeking  him,  Avhich  is  not  an  unne- 
cessary exhortation.  Seeking  God,  it  is  true,  is  the  mark  by 
which  all  genuine  saints  are  particularly  distinguished  from 
the  men  of  the  world ;  but  they  come  far  short  of  seeking 
him  with  due  ardour ;  and,  accordingly,  they  have  always 
need  of  incitements,  to  urge  them  on  to  this  exercise,  al- 
though they  run  of  their  own  accord.  Those  whom  the  pro- 
phet here  stirs  up  to  seek  God  are  not  fickle  persons,  nor 

»  "  For  vri,  his  strength,  the  LXX.  seem  to  have  read  .i-Ty,  be  strengthened, 

and  accordingly  render  it  xj osT«/<y3ijT£,  the  Latin  '  confirmamini,'  '  be 
confirmed,'  and  so  the  Syriac,  '  be  strengthened.'  This  the  sense  would 
well  bear,  '  Seek  the  Lord,  and  be  confirmed  ;'  let  all  your  strength  be 
sought  from  him.  So  the  Jewish  Arab,  '  Seek  the  Lord,  and  seek  that 
he  would  strengthen  you,  or  strength  from  him,  or  you  shall  certainly 
be  strengthened,'  if  by  prayer  you  diligently  seek  him:'— Hammond. 
Horsley  also  reads,  "  Seek  the  Lord,  and  be  strong." 


174  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

such  as  are  altogether  indolent,  and  who  cleave  to  the  im- 
purities of  earth,  but  those  who  with  a  prompt  and  ready  mind 
already  aim  at  doing  this  ;  and  he  thus  stimulates  them,  be- 
cause he  perceives  that  they  are  obstructed  by  many  impedi- 
ments from  advancing  in  their  course  with  sufficient  rapidity. 
However  willing  then  wemay  be,  we  have  notwithstanding  need 
of  such  incitement  to  correct  our  slowness.  The  strength  and 
face  of  God,  doubtless  refer  to  that  kind  of  manifestation  by 
which  God,  accommodating  himself  to  the  rudeness  of  the 
times,  drew  at  that  time  true  believers  to  himself.  The  ark 
of  the  covenant  is  in  many  other  places  called  both  the  strength 
and  the  face  of  God,  because  by  that  symbol  the  people  were 
reminded,  that  he  was  near  them,  and  also  really  experienced 
his  power.^  The  more  familiarly  then  God  showed  himself 
to  them,  with  the  more  promptitude  and  alacrity  would  the 
prophet  have  them  to  apply  their  hearts  in  seeking  him ;  and 
the  aid  by  which  God  relieves  our  weakness  should  prove  an 
additional  stimidus  to  our  zeal.  Modesty  also  is  recommended 
to  us,  that,  mindful  of  our  slowness  in  seeking  God,  we  may 
keep  the  way  which  he  has  prescribed  to  us,  and  may  not 
despise  the  rudiments  through  which  he  by  little  and  little 
conducts  us  to  himself.  It  is  added  continually,  that  no  per- 
son may  grow  weary  in  this  exercise,  or,  inflated  with  a 
foolish  opinion  of  having  reached  perfection,  may  neglect  the 
external  aids  of  piety,  as  is  done  by  many,  who,  after  having 
advanced  a  few  degrees  in  the  knowledge  of  God,  exempt 
themselves  from  the  common  rank  of  others,  as  if  they  Avcre 
elevated  above  the  angels.  Again,  the  injunction  is  given 
to  remember  the  marvellous  ivorks  which  God  had  performed,  in 
the  deliverance  of  his  people  from  Egypt,  when  he  displayed 
his  power  in  n^w  and  unusual  ways.  By  the  judgments  of  his 
mouth,  some  understand  the  law.  But  as  I  read  all  the  three 
expressions,  his  marvellous  tcorks,  his  wonders,  and  the  judg- 

^  Witli  this  agrees  the  interpretation  of  Lowth:  "The  holy  ark,  and 
the  shechinah  which  remained  upon  it,  the  symbol  of  the  divine  presence, 
is  called  the/ace  of  God;  and  to  seek  the  face  of  God,  is  to  appear  be- 
fore the  ark,  to  worship  at  the  sanctuary  of  God,  which  was  required  of 
the  Israelites  thrice  a  year. — See  2  Sam.  xxi.  1  ;  2  Chron.  viL  14  ;  Ps. 
xxvii.  8  ;  Exod.  xxiii.  17." — Lectures  on  the  Sacred  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews, 
vol.  ii.  p.  241, 


PSALM  CV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  175 

ments  of  his  mouth,  as  referring  to  one  series  of  events,  I  pre- 
fer explaining  it  rather  of  the  miracles  by  Avhich  God  sub- 
dued the  pride  of  Pharaoh.  Still,  however,  there  is  some 
doubt  as  to  the  reason  of  this  manner  of  speaking.  Some  are 
of  opinion,  that  these  miracles  are  called  the  judgments  of 
God's  mouth,  because  he  had  foretold  them  by  Moses,  which  is 
highly  probable.  At  the  same  time,  the  expression  might  be 
taken  more  simply,  as  denoting  that  the  power  of  God  was 
manifested  in  an  extraordinary  manner  in  these  miracles  ; 
from  which  it  would  be  easy  to  gather,  that  they  were  per- 
formed by  him.  1  do  not  mean  to  exclude  the  ministry  of 
Moses,  whom  God  had  raised  up  to  be  a  prophet  to  the 
Egyptians,  that  in  denouncing  what  was  to  come  to  pass,  he 
might  show  that  nothing  happened  by  chance.  Yet  I  think 
there  is  an  allusion  to  the  manifest  character  of  the  miracles, 
as  if  it  had  been  said.  Although  God  had  not  uttered  a  word, 
the  facts  themselves  evidently  showed,  that  he  was  the  de- 
liverer of  his  people. 

6.   Ye  seed  of  Abraham   his   servant,   the  sons  of  Jacob  his 
chosen, 
[      7.  He  is  Jehovah  our  God  :  his  judgments  are  through  all  the 
earth. 

8.  He  hath  remembered  his  covenant  for  ever,  the  tvord  which 

he  commanded  to  a  thousand  generations  : 

9.  Which  he  made  with  Abraham,^  and  his  oath  which  he  sicore 

to  Isaac i"^ 

10.  And  established  it  to  Jacob  for  a  laio,  and,  to  Israel  for  an 

everlasting  covenant :  ^ 

11.  Saying,  I  will  give  thee  tJie  land  of  Canaan,  the  core/ [or 

measuring  line*]  of  your  inheritance. 


1  See  Gen.  xv.  17,  18 ;  xvii.  2 ;  xxii.  16  ;  xxvi.  3  ;  xxxv.  11. 

2  See  Gen.  xxvi.  3. 

3  To  Jacob  also  he  renewed  at  Beersheba  all  the  gracious  assurances 
of  the  covenant  which  he  had  made  with  Abraham,  and  ratified  to 
Isaac,  (Gen.  xxviii.  10-15 ;)  and  he  again  renewed  them  at  Padan- 
aram,  (Gen.  xxxv.  9-15 ;  xiii.  1-5,)  when  he  changed  Ms  name  from 
Jacob  to  Israel. 

*  In  our  English  version  it  is  lot.  But  the  original  word  signifies  a 
cord  or  line.  There  is  here  an  allusion  to  the  several  lots  or  portions 
into  which  the  land  of  Canaan  was  divided  among  the  twelve  tribes ; 


176  COMMENTAllY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

6.  Ye  seed  of  Abraham  his  servant.  The  Psalmist  ad- 
dresses himself  by  name  to  his  own  countrymen,  whom,  as 
has  been  stated,  God  had  bound  to  himself  by  a  special  adop- 
tion. It  was  a  bond  of  union  still  more  sacred,  that  by  the 
mere  good  pleasure  of  God  they  were  preferred  to  all  other 
nations.  By  calling  them  the  seed  of  Abraham,  and  the  sons 
of  Jacob,  he  reminds  them  that  they  had  not  attained  so 
great  dignity  by  their  own  power,  but  because  they  were 
descended  from  the  holy  fathers.  He,  however,  affirms  at 
the  same  time,  that  the  holiness  of  their  fathers  flowed  ex- 
clusively from  God's  election,  and  not  from  their  own  nature. 
He  expressly  states  both  these  truths,  first,  that  before  they 
were  born  children  of  Abraham,  they  Avere  already  heirs  of 
the  covenant,  because  they  derived  their  origin  from  the 
holy  fathers ;  and,  secondly,  that  the  fathers  themselves  had 
not  acquired  this  prerogative  by  their  own  merit  or  worth, 
but  had  been  freely  chosen ;  for  this  is  the  reason  why 
Jacob  is  called  God^s  chosen.  Although  Abraham  is  also 
here  called  God's  servant,  (Gen.  xxvi.  24,)  because  he  purely 
and  sincerely  worshipped  him,  yet  in  the  second  clause  it  is 
testified  that  the  commencement  of  this  distinction  was  not 
to  be  traced  to  men,  but  to  God  alone,  who  conferred  upon 
the  Israelites  the  honour  of  choosing  them  to  be  his  peculiar 
possession. 

From  this  covenant  the  Psalmist  infers  that  although  the 
government  of  God  extends  through  the  whole  world,  and 
although  he  executes  his  judgment  in  all  places,  he  was  never- 
theless especially  the  God  of  that  one  people,  (verse  7,)  ac- 
cording to  the  statement  in  the  song  of  Moses,  (Deut.  xxxii. 
8,  9,)  "  When  the  Most  High  divided  to  the  nations  their 

which  were  measured  by  lines.  See  vol.  i.  p.  225,  n.  4.  It  being  thought 
by  some  learned  men  that  the  descendants  of  Heber  possessed  the  land 
of  Canaan  before  the  Canaanites,  and  that  the  latter  unjustly  dis- 
possessed them,  (see  vol.  iii.  p.  264,  n.  3  ;)  Dimock  supposes  that  the 
phrase,  "  the  lot  of  your  inheritance,"  refers  to  this  prior  and  rightful 
possession.  But  the  appellation  given  them  in  verse  12th,  as  strangers 
in  it,  seems  to  militate  against  such  an  opinion.  Nor  is  it  necessary  for 
vindicating  God  to  have  recourse  to  such  a  supposition.  As  he  is  the 
supreme  proprietor  of  all  the  earth,  he  has  a  right  to  give  it  to  whom- 
soever he  pleases ;  and  the  wickedness  of  the  Canaanites  sufficiently 
justified  their  expulsion. 


rSALM  CV.         THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  177 

inheritance,  when  he  separated  the  sons  of  Adam,  he  set  the 
bounds  of  the  people,  according  to  the  number  of  the  children 
of  Israel :  For  the  Lord's  portion  is  his  people  ;  Jacob  is  the 
lot  of  his  inheritance."  The  prophet  again  intended  to  show 
that  the  reason  why  the  children  of  Israel  excelled  others 
was  not  because  they  were  better  than  others,  but  because 
such  was  the  good  pleasure  of  God.  If  the  divine  judgments 
are  extended  through  all  the  regions  of  the  globe,  the  con- 
dition of  all  nations  is  in  this  respect  equal.  Whence  it  fol- 
lows that  the  difference  referred  to  proceeded  from  the  love 
of  God, — that  the  source  of  the  superiority  of  the  Israelites 
to  other  nations  was  his  free  favour.  Although,  then,  He  is 
the  rightful  proprietor  of  the  whole  earth,  it  is  declared  that 
he  chose  one  people  over  whom  he  might  reign.  This  is  a 
doctrine  which  applies  to  us  also  at  the-  present  day.  If  we 
duly  ponder  our  calling,  we  will  undoubtedly  find  that  God 
has  not  been  induced  from  anything  out  of  himself  to  prefer 
us  to  others,  but  that  he  was  pleased  to  do  so  purely  from  his 
own  free  grace. 

8.  He  hatli  remembered  his  covenant  for  ever.  The  Psalmist 
now  celebrates  the  effect  and  actual  fulfilment  of  the  cove- 
nant, and  proves  from  the  deliverance  wrought  for  the  Israel- 
ites what  he  had  stated  before,  namely.  That  God,  while  he 
reigned  alike  over  all  nations,  extended  his  peculiar  favour 
to  the  offspring  of  Abraham  alone.  How  comes  it  to  pass 
that  God,  in  delivering  his  people,  displayed  the  might  of  his 
arm  by  so  many  miracles,  if  it  was  not  that  he  might  faith- 
fully perform  the  promise  which  he  had  made  to  his  servants 
in  time  past  ?  It  is  evident,  then,  that  the  ancient  covenant 
was  the  cause  of  the  deliverance  granted  to  the  chosen  tribes  ; 
for  in  order  that  God  might  faithfully  keep  his  promises,  it 
behoved  him  first  to  be  merciful.  As  a  long  series  of  years 
had  elapsed  between  the  promise  and  the  performance,  the 
prophet  uses  the  word  remember,  intimating  that  the  Divine 
promises  do  not  become  obsolete  by  length  of  time,  but  that 
even  when  the  world  imagines  that  they  are  extinguished 
and  wholly  forgotten,  God  retains  as  distinct  a  remembrance 
of  them  as  ever,  that  he  may  accomplish  thcui  in  due  season. 
vol .  IV.  M 


178  COMMENTARY  UrON  TSALM  CV. 

This  is  more  strongly  confirmed  in  the  next  clause,  where  the 
correspondence  between  the  form  or  tenor  of  the  covenant  and 
the  accomplishment  is  celebi'ated.  It  is  not  for  a  day,  he 
would  say,  or  for  a  few  days,  that  God  has  made  a  covenant 
Ayith  Abraham,  nor  has  he  limited  the  continuance  of  his 
covenant  to  the  life  of  man,  but  he  has  promised  to  be  the 
God  of  his  seed  even  to  a  thousand  generations.  Although, 
therefore,  the  fulfilment  was  for  a  long  time  suspended,  God 
nevertheless  showed  by  the  effect  that  his  promise  did  not 
fail  by  length  of  time. 

As  Abraham  was  the  first  who  was  called  when  he  was 
mingled  with  idolaters,  the  prophet  begins  with  him.     He, 
however,  afterwards  declares  that  the  covenant  was  also  con- 
firmed in  the  hand  of  his  son  and  his  son's  son.     God  then 
deposited  his  covenant  with  Abraham,  and  by  solemn  oath 
engaged  to  be  the  God  of  his  seed.     But  to  give  greater 
assui*ance    of  the   truth  of  his  promise,  he  was   graciously 
pleased  to  renew  it  to  Isaac  and  Jacob.     The  effect  of  such  an 
extension  of  it  is,  that  his  faithfulness  takes  deeper  hold  on 
the  hearts  of  men ;  and,  besides,  his  grace,  when  it  is  thus  testi- 
fied on  frequent  recurring  occasions,  becomes  better  known  and 
more  illustrious  among  men.     Accordingly,  it  is  here  declared 
by  gradation  how  stedfast  and  immoveable  this  covenant  is  ; 
for  what  is  affirmed  concerning  each  of  the  patriarchs  belongs 
equally  to  them  all.     It  is  said  that  God  sioore  to  Isaac.     But 
had  he  not  sworn  to  Abraham  before  ?     Undoubtedly  he  had. 
It  is  also  said  that  it  was  established  to  Jacob  for  a  law,  and  for 
an  everlasting  covenant.    Does  this  mean  that  the  covenant  was 
previously  only  temporal  and  transitory,  and  that  then  it  had 
chan<red  its  nature  ?     Such  an  idea  is  altogether  at  variance 
with  the  meaning  of  the  sacred  writer.     By  these  different 
forms  of  expression  he  asserts  that  the  covenant  was  fully  and 
perfectly  confirmed,  so  that,  if  perhaps  the  calling  was  ob- 
scure in  one  man,  it  might  be  more  evident,  by  God's  having 
transmitted  the  testimony  of  it  to  posterity  ;  for  by  this 
means  the  truth  of  it  was  the  better  manifested.     Here  again 
we  must  remember  that  God  with  great  kindness  considers 
our  weakness  when,  both  by  his    oath,   and  by   frequently 
repeating  his  word,  he  ratiBes  what  he  has  once  promised 


PSALM  CV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  179 

to  US.     Our  ingratitude  then  aj^pears  tlie  fouler  in  disbe- 
lieving liim  when  he  not  only  speaks  but  also  swears. 

11.  Saying,  Itcill  give  thee  the  land  of  Canaan.  As  this  was 
only  a  small  portion  of  the  blessings  offered  to  the  fathers,  the 
prophet  seems  at  first  view  too  much  to  limit  the  covenant  of 
God,  which  extended  even  to  the  hope  of  an  eternal  inherit- 
ance. But  he  considered  it  enough  to  show,  by  the  figure 
synecdoche,  that  a  part  of  what  God  had  promised  to  the 
fathers  had  received  its  complete  accomplishment.  His  drift 
is  to  intimate  that  they  did  not  possess  the  land  of  Canaan  by 
any  other  right  than  because  it  was  the  legitimate  inheritance 
of  Abraham  according  to  the  covenant  which  God  had 
made  with  him.  If  man  exhibit  the  promised  earnest  of 
a  contract,  he  does  not  violate  the  contract.  When,  there- 
fore, the  prophet  proves  by  a  visible  symbol  that  God  did 
not  make  a  covenant  with  his  servants  in  vain,  and  that  he 
did  not  disappoint  their  hope,  he  does  not  take  away  or  abol- 
ish the  other  blessings  included  in  it.  Nay,  rather,  when 
the  Israelites  heard  that  they  possessed  the  land  of  Canaan 
by  right  of  inheritance,  because  they  were  the  chosen  people 
of  God,  it  became  them  to  look  beyond  this,  and  to  take  a 
comprehensive  view  of  all  the  privileges  by  which  He  had 
vouchsafed  to  distinguish  them.  Hence  it  is  to  be  noted, 
that  when  He  in  part  fulfils  his  promises  towards  us,  we  are 
base  and  ungrateful  if  this  experience  does  not  conduce  to 
the  confirmation  of  our  faith.  Whenever  he  shows  himself 
to  be  a  father  towards  us,  he  undoubtedly  really  seals  on  our 
hearts  the  power  and  efficacy  of  his  word.  But  if  the  land 
of  Canaan  ought  to  have  led  the  children  of  Israel  in  their 
contemplations  to  heaven,  since  they  knew  that  they  had 
been  brought  into  it  on  account  of  the  covenant  which  God 
had  made  with  them,  the  consideration  that  He  has  given  to 
us  his  Christ,  "  in  whom  all  the  promises  are  yea  and  amen," 
(2  Cor.  i.  20,)  ought  to  have  much  greater  weight  with  us. 
When  it  is  said,  /  will  give  thee  the  measuring  line  of  your  in- 
heritance, the  change  of  the  number  points  out  that  God 
made  a  covenant  with  all  the  people  in  general,  though  he 
spake  the  words  only  to  a  few  individuals  ;  even  as  we  have 


180  COMMENTAP.Y  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

seen  a  little  before  tliat  it  was  a  decree  or  an  everlasting  law. 
The  holy  patriarchs  were  the  first  and  principal  persons 
into  whose  hands  the  promise  was  committed ;  but  they  did 
not  embrace  the  grace  which  was  offered  to  them  as  what 
belonged  only  to  themselves,  but  as  what  their  posterity  in 
common  with  them  were  to  become  sharers  of. 

12.  When  they  were  but  very  feio  in  number;  and  strangers 

in  it. 

13.  And  loalhed  about  from  nation  to  nation,  and  from  one  king- 

dom to  another  people. 

14.  He  did  not  suffer  men  to  hurt  them ;  and  rebuhed  kings  for 

their  sake ; 

15.  Saying,  Touch  not  my  anointed  ones,  and  do  my  prophets  no 

wrong. ^ 

12.  When  they  were  hut  very  few  in  number.  The  prophet 
here  recounts  the  benefits  which  God  had  conferred  upon  the 
holy  fathers  from  the  commencement,  to  manifest  that  even 
long  before  the  deliverance  from  Egypt,  the  covenant  was 
not  ineffectual.  The  great  object  aimed  at  in  this  recital,  is 
to  show  that  ever  since  God  took  Abraham  under  his  pro- 
tection, he  cherished  him  in  a  wonderful  manner,  and  also 
that  his  fatherly  love  and  care  were  displayed  in  maintain- 
ing and  defending  the  other  two  patriarchs.  When  it 
is  said,  that  they  were  hut  very  few  in  number,  the  power  of 
God  by  this  circumstance  is  not  only  magnified,  but  the 
cause  why  he  was  so  beneficent  towards  them  is  also  pointed 
out.     We  must  then,  in  the  first  place,  attend  to  this,  that  the 

'  Dr  Morison  explains  the  13th,  14th,  and  15th  verses  thus : — 
"  When  they  went  from  one  part  of  Canaan  to  another,  which  they 
found  possessed  by  seven  great  nations,  (Gen.  vii.  1 ;)  when  they  were 
driven  from  one  kingdom  to  another  people, — sometimes  in  Egypt,  (Gen. 
xii.  10,)  sometimes  in  Gerar,  (Gen.  xx.  1 ;  xxvi.,)  and  sometimes  in  the 
country  of  the  East,  from  whence  they  came,  (Gen.  xxix.  1,)  he  suffered 
no  one  to  injure  them  ;  on  the  contrary,  he  raised  up  friends  for  tlieni, 
(Gen.  xxxi.  24,  42,)  rebuked  the  kings  of  Egypt  (Gen.  xii.  16,  17)  and 
Gerar  (Gen.  xx.  3)  for  their  sakes,  and  counselled  them  in  the  most 
solemn  terms  not  to  touch  or  injure  the  persons  of  his  anointed  servants, 
(Gen.  xxvi.  11,  29,)  by  whom,  that  is  by  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
the  Most  High  communicated  his  will  to  his  Church,  pouring  his  Spirit 
upon  them,  and  making  them  kings  and  priests  in  the  distinguished 
families  to  Avhich  they  belonged." 


PSALM  CV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  181 

prophet,  lest  the  Jews  should  arrogate  anything  to  them- 
selves, expressly  declares,  that  their  fathers  had  experienced 
the  divine  favour,  even  when  they  were  feeble  and  despised, 
wandering  from  place  to  place,  in  every  respect  poor  and 
miserable  according  to  the  flesh.    Thus  also  Moses  reproaches 
them,  Deut.  vii.  7,  8,  "  The  Lord  did  not  set  his  love  upon 
you,  nor  choose  you,  because  ye  were  more  in  number  than 
any  people ;  for  ye  were  the  fewest  of  all  people ;  but  be- 
cause the  Lord  loved  you."     In  short,  in  the  choosing  of  this 
people,no  regard  washad  either  to  number,  orto  any  excellence 
whatever.     There  was  only  the  house  of  Abraham,  and  yet 
it  was  barren.     Isaac  was  compelled  to  banish  to  a  distance 
from  him  one  of  his  two  sons,  and  he  saw  the  other  cut  off 
from  his  family.     The  house  of  Jacob  was  indeed  more  fruit- 
ful, but  it  was  nevertheless  of  a  low  condition.     Besides,  they 
were  not  only  ignoble  and  despised  when  sojourning  in  a 
strange  land,  but  famine,  and  the  want  of  other  things  also, 
compelled  them  frequently  to  go  from  one  place  to  another. 
All  these  things  being  taken  into  view,  the  consideration  of 
human  worth  falls  to  the  ground,  and  it  is  clearly  seen,  that 
all  the  blessings  which  God  had  bestowed  upon  them  flowed 
from  no  other  fountain  than  his  own  free  love.     And  the 
cause   of  this  love  is  not  to  be  sought  for  out  of  himself. 
If  the  Holy  Spirit    is  so  careful  in  magnifying    the  grace 
of  God  in  these  earthly  blessings,  how  much  more  must  he 
observe  this  rule,  when  the  subject  of  which  he  speaks  is  the 
heavenly  inheritance  !    When  it  is  said,  that  they  walked  about 
from  nation  to  nation,  this  intimates  the  more  plainly  how 
wonderfully  the  divine  protection  was  displayed  in  preserving 
them.     Had  they  found  any  quiet  nest  in  which  to  repose, 
such  comfort  would  have  been  a  notable  sign  of  the  divine 
goodness  ;  but  when  they  were  as  exiles  in  divers  countries, 
and  were  driven  from  one  place  to  another  with  bitter  scorn, 
as  chaff"  is  driven  about  by  the  wind,  the  guardianship  which 
God  exercised  over  them    shone  forth  much  more  conspi- 
cuously.    Since  their  life  everywhere  hung  only  by  a  thread, 
and  the  changing  of  their  place  of  sojourn  exposed  them  from 
time  to  time  to  fresh  injuries,  it  is  evident  that  it  was  the 
divine  power  alone  which  preserved  them  in  safety. 


182  COMMENTAEY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

14.  He  did  not  suffer  men  to  hurt  them.  Abraham  and  his 
children  had  not  merely  two  or  three  enemies :  they  were 
harassed  by  whole  nations.  As  then  many  I'ose  np  one  after 
another  in  troops  against  them,  the  Psalmist  says  indefinitely, 
that  men  were  withheld  from  hurting  them ;  for  QIX,  adam, 
is  the  word  here  used,  which  is  the  one  most  generally  em- 
ployed to  signify  man.  He  next  amplifies  the  love  of  God 
towards  his  servants,  in  setting  himself  in  opposition  to  kings 
for  their  sake.  When  God  did  not  spare  even  the  kings  of 
Egypt  and  Gerar,  it  is  evident  how  precious  the  welfare  of 
Abraham  and  his  offspring  was  in  his  sight.  We  have  said 
a  little  before  that  the  holy  fathers  were  of  no  estimation  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world.  God  therefore  displayed  his  goodness 
so  much  the  more  signally  in  preferring  them  to  kings.  Now 
we  here  see,  that  the  Jews  were  humbled  in  the  person  of 
their  fathers,  that  they  might  not  imagine  that  they  found  fa- 
vour in  the  sight  of  God  by  any  merit  of  their  own. 

15.  Saying,   Touch  not  my  anointed  ones.     The  Psalmist 
proceeds  farther,  affirming,  that  when  God  made  war  against 
kings  for  the  sake  of  his  servants,  they  were  defended  by 
him,  not  only  as  he  is  accustomed  to  succour  the  miserable 
and  the  unjustly  oppressed,  but  because  he  had  taken  them 
under  his  special  guardianship.     God  protects  his  people,  not 
only  upon  a  general  ground,  but  because  he  has  declared  on  ac- 
count of  his  free  adoption,  that  he  will  maintain  them.    This  is 
thereasonwhy  theseholy  patriarchs  are  here  honoured  with  two 
designations,  his  prophets  and  his  anointed  ones.  In  speaking  of 
other  men,  God  would  have  said.  Touch  not  these  men  who 
have  done  wrong  to  nobody,  hurt  not  these  poor  wretched 
creatures  who  have  deserved  no  such  treatment  at  your  hands. 
But  in  the  person  of  Abraham  and  his  children,  he  shows 
that  there  was  another  reason  for  his  defending  them.     He 
calls  them  anointed  ones,  because  he  had  set  them  apart  to  be 
his  peculiar  people.     In  the  same  sense,  he  designates  them 
prophets,  (a  title  with  which  Abraham  is  also  honoured.  Gen. 
XX.  7,)  not  only  because  God  had  manifested  himself  more 
intimately  to  them,  but  also  because  they  faithfully  spread 
around  them   divine   truth,    that  the  memory    of  it    might 


PSALM  CV.         THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  183 

survive  them,  and  flourish  after  their  death.  Anoint- 
ing, it  is  true,  was  not  as  yet  in  use,  as  it  was  afterwards 
under  the  law ;  but  the  prophet  teaches,  that  what  God  at  a 
subsequent  period  exhibited  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  law  was 
really  and  in  very  deed  in  Abraham,  even  as  God  engraves 
the  mark  of  sanctification  on  all  his  chosen  ones.  If  God's  y 
inward  anointing  was  of  such  powerful  efficacy,  even  at 
the  time  when  he  had  not  yet  appointed,  or  delivered  the 
figures  of  the  law,  with  how  much  greater  care  will  he  defend 
his  servants  now,  after  having  exhibited  to  us  the  plenitude 
of  anointing  in  his  only  begotten  Son  ! 

16.  A^id  he  called  a  famine  upon  the  land  :  he  brake  the  ivhole 

staff  of  bread. 

17.  He  sent  a  man  before  them  ;  Joseph  icas  sold  for  a  slave. 

18.  They  afflicted  his  feet  in  the  stocks  :  the  iron  entered  into  his 

sold. 

19.  Until  the  time  that  his  loord  came  :   the  icord  of  Jehovah 

tried  him. 

IG.  And  he  called  a  famine  upon  the  land.  Here  the  in- 
spired writer  recounts  a  most  illustrious  proof  of  divine  pro- 
vidence towards  the  chosen  people,  at  the  time  when  the 
covenant  might  seem  to  be  void  and  disannulled.  The  in- 
heritance of  the  land  of  Canaan  (as  has  been  stated  above) 
was  added,  as  an  earnest  or  pledge  for  confirmation.  The 
descent  of  Jacob  into  Egypt,  which  deprived  his  house  of  the 
sight  of  the  land,  could  not  make  the  covenant  to  perish. 
In  this  the  constancy  of  God  shone  forth  the  brighter ;  yea, 
by  this  trial  he  manifested  more  plainly  how  provident  a 
father  he  was  in  preserving  the  seed  of  Abraham.  But  it  is 
better  to  consider  each  particular  in  the  verse.  In  the  first  place, 
it  is  taught,  that  the  famine  which  drove  Jacob  into  Egypt  did 
not  happen  by  chance.  Although  only  one  particular  famine 
is  here  treated  of  j  it  is  to  be  held  as  a  ofeneral  principle,  that 
there  is  no  other  cause  of  any  scarcity  of  sustenance  except 
this,  that  God,  in  withdrawing  his  hand,  takes  away  the 
means  of  support.  The  curse  of  God  is  expressed  more  em- 
phatically, when  it  is  said,  that  the  famine  teas  called;  af-  if  it 


184  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

were  ready  at  his  command,  as  a  minister  of  his  wrath.  By 
this  we  are  instructed,  that  famine,  pestilence,  and  other 
scourges  of  God,  do  not  visit  men  by  chance,  but  are  di- 
rected by  his  hand  whither  it  pleases  him,  and  are  obedient 
to  his  will.'  The  manner  in  which  the  famine  was  called  is 
next  stated,  namely,  when  he  brake  the  staff  of  bread.  The 
metaphor  of  staff  is  very  appropriate  ;  for  God  has  put  into 
bread  the  power  and  property  of  strengthening  man,  by  a 
secret  virtue  which  fits  it  to  sustain  us.  So  long  as  it  pleases 
him  to  nourish  us  by  such  means,  a  staff  as  it  were  lies  hid- 
den within  it.  This  staff  is  broken  in  two  ways ;  either,  first, 
when  he  takes  away  the  supply  of  grain  necessary  for  our 
nourishment,  the  sense  in  Avhich  it  seems  to  be  used  in 
Ezek.  chap.  iv.  1 6,  ''  Moreover,  he  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man, 
behold,  I  will  break  the  staff  of  bread  in  Jerusalem,  and  they 
shall  eat  bread  by  weight,  and  with  care ;  and  they  shall 
drink  water  by  measure,  and  with  astonishment ;"  or,  se- 
condly, when  he  breathes  in  anger  upon  the  bread  itself,  so 
that  those  who  would  satisfy  themselves  by  devouring  it,  in- 
stead of  having  their  hunger  thereby  removed,  remain  fa- 
mished still.  And  certainly  to  the  barrenness  of  the  earth  this 
second  is  commonly  added,  namely,  that  he  takes  away  the 
sustaining  powr  which  is  in  bread ;  for,  as  it  is  declared  in 
Deut.  viii.  3,  bread  does  not  give  life  of  itself,  but  borrows 
its  secret  virtue  from  the  mouth  of  God. 

17.  He  sent  a  man  before  them.  This  whole  passage  gra- 
phically teaches  us,  that  whatever  befell  that  people  was  by 
the  hand  and  counsel  of  God.  The  simple  recital  would  have 
been  to  say,  that  the  famine  came  upon  the  land,  after  Joseph 
had  been  sold  by  his  brethren,  and  carried  into  Egypt.  But 
the  prophet  speaks  emphatically,  declaring  that  Joseph  by 
the  divine  counsel  had  been  sent  before  into  Egypt,  to  sup- 
port his  father's  house,  that  afterwards  the  famine  was  called, 
and  that  then,  by  God's  providence,  a  remedy  was  presented 
beyond  all  hope.     This,  indeed,  is  generally  true  in  human 

^  "  Famine  is  here  finely  represented  as  a  servant,  ready  to  come  and 
go  at  tlie  '  call'  and  command  of  God  ;  for  calamities,  whether  public  or 
private,  arc  the  messengers  of  divine  justice." — Home. 


PSALM  CV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  185 

affairs  ;  but  there  is  here  commemorated  a  special  care  which 
God  took  in  governing  and  nourishing  his  Church.  More- 
over, the  prophet  mentions  that  as  second  in  place  which  was 
first  in  the  order  of  time.  Accordingly,  in  regard  to  the  word 
send,  the  pluperfect  tense  would  better  express  the  sense,  He 
had  sent ;  implying  that  before  God  afflicted  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan with  famine,  he  had  prepared  a  remedy  for  his  servant 
Jacob,  and  for  his  household,  in  having  sent  Joseph  before  as 
a  steward  to  provide  them  with  food.  Here  two  con- 
traries as  it  were  are  stated,  to  render  the  divine  superin- 
tendence in  the  whole  the  more  conspicuous.  How  was 
Joseph  sent  of  God  ?  It  was  in  this  way : — When  he  was 
doomed  to  death,  it  happened  that  his  brethren  preferred 
selling  him  to  leaving  him  in  his  grave.  This  selling,  if  con- 
sidered merely  by  itself,  like  a  cloud  interposed,  obscured 
and  concealed  the  divine  providence.  When  counsel  was 
taken  to  put  Joseph  to  death,  who  would  have  expected  that 
he  was  to  be  the  sustainer  of  his  father's  house  ?  Afterwards 
a  kinti  of  death  Avas  devised  for  him  less  cruel ;  but  then  he 
was  cast  into  a  well  or  pit,  and  in  that  situation  how  could 
he  succour  others  ?  The  last  hope  was,  that  at  length  being 
sold,  he  came  forth  from  the  pit.  But  again,  he  was  well 
nigh  rotting  all  his  life  long  in  prison. 

Who  could  think  that  processes  so  intricate  and  circuitous 
were  controlled  by  divine  providence  ?  The  prophet  there- 
fore meets  this  difficulty  by  saying,  that  in  respect  of  men, 
he  was  indeed  5(?/(/ ;  but  that  he  had  nevertheless  been  pre- 
viously sent  by  the  divine  purpose.  The  passage  is  worthy 
of  notice,  admirably  vindicating,  as  it  does,  the  providence  of 
God  against  the  perverse  stupidity  of  our  corrupt  nature. 
Resting  on  the  second  causes  which  meet  the  eye,  or  ascrib- 
ing to  the  direction  of  man  whatever  is  done  in  this  world, 
or  thinking  that  all  things  happen  by  chance,  very  fcAv  trace 
them  to  the  appointment  of  God.  And  yet  the  selling  of 
Joseph  is  not  here  interposed  as  a  veil  to  hide  divine  provi- 
dence ;  but  is  rather  set  forth  as  a  signal  instance  of  it  to 
teach  us  that  whatever  men  may  undertake,  the  issues  are  in 
the  hand  of  God ;  or  rather,  that  by  a  secret  influence,  he 
bends  the  hearts  of  men  in  whatever  direction  he  pleases, 


186  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

that  by  their  instrumentality,  whether  they  will  or  no,  he 
may  bring  to  pass  what  he  has  determined  should  be  done. 
Agreeably  to  this  Joseph  said  to  his  brethren,  "Now,  there- 
fore, be  not  grieved  nor  angry  with  yourselves  that  ye  sold 
me  hither ;  for  God  did  send  me  before  you  to  preserve  life," 
(Gen.  xlv.  5.)  Farther,  God  so  governs  human  affairs  by  his 
secret  controlling  influence,  and  overrules  men's  wicked  de- 
vices to  a  right  end,  as  that  his  judgments  are  notwith- 
standing uncontaminated  by  the  depravity  of  men.  The 
brethren  of  Joseph  wickedly  conspire  his  death ;  they  also 
wrongfully  sell  him  :  the  fault  is  in  themselves.  Contemplate 
now  how  God  directs  and  controls  all.  By  the  hand  of 
these  brethren  he  provides  for  the  good  both  of  themselves 
and  of  their  father  Jacob,  yea  for  that  of  the  whole  Church. 
This  holy  purpose  contracts  no  defilement  or  sj^ot  from  the 
malice  of  those  who  aimed  at  an  entirely  opposite  end  ;  even 
as  Joseph  testified  afterwards,  "  But  as  for  you,  ye  thought 
evil  against  me ;  but  God  meant  it  unto  good,  to  bring  to  pass 
as  it  is  this  day,  to  save  much  people  alive,"  (Gen.  1.  20.) 

18.  They  afflicted  his  feet  in  the  fetters.  It  is  not  without 
cause  that  the  Psalmist  prosecutes  the  winding  course  of 
Jacob's  early  history,  which  might  so  confuse  the  minds  of 
men  as  to  prevent  them  from  directing  their  attention  to  the 
counsel  of  God.  What  seemed  less  likely  than  to  believe 
that  God,  by  so  directly  opposite  and  circuitous  a  path,  meant 
to  accomplish  what  he  had  purposed  ?  But  his  providence, 
by  surmounting  so  many  obstacles,  is  brought  out  more  con- 
spicuously, than  if  he  had  despatched  the  whole  matter  by  a 
short  and  easy  road.  Had  Joseph,  as  soon  as  he  arrived 
in  Egypt,  been  presented  to  the  kiug,  and  made  its  governor, 
the  way  to  what  followed  would  have  been  easy.  But  when 
he  was  carried  away  to  prison,  and  lay  there  separated  from 
the  society  of  men,  living  as  one  half-dead;  and  when  his 
becoming  known  to  the  king  was  a  long  time  subsequent  to 
this,  and  beyond  all  expectation,  such  a  sudden  change  ren- 
ders the  miracle  much  more  evident.  This  circuitous  course 
then,  which  the  prophet  recounts,  serves  not  a  little  to  illus- 
trate the  subject  in  hand.     Joseph  was  many  times  dead  be- 


PSALM  CV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  187 

fore  he  was  sold.  Hence  it  follows,  that  God  as  often  showed 
his  care  of  his  Church  by  delivering  him  who  might  be  termed 
her  father.  When  after,  having  been  brought  into  Egypt, 
Joseph  was  conveyed  from  hand  to  hand  till  he  descended  into 
another  grave,  is  it  not  the  more  clearly  manifest  from  this 
that  God,  while  he  seems  to  be  asleep  in  heaven,  is  all  the 
while  keeping  the  strictest  watch  over  his  servants,  and  that 
he  is  carrying  forward  his  purpose  more  effectually  by  these 
various  windings,  than  if  he  had  gone  straight  forward, 
yea,  than  if  he  had  run  with  rapid  pace  ?  For  this 
reason  the  prophet  affirms  that  his  feet  were  afflicted  in  the 
fetters;  a  fact  which,  although  not  stated  in  the  narrative 
of  Moses,  he  speaks  of  as  well  known.  And  no  doubt,  many 
things  were  delivered  by  tradition  to  the  Jew^s  of  which  no 
mention  is  made  in  the  Scriptures.'  It  is  also  probable 
enough,  that,  instead  of  being  put  at  first  under  niild  restraint, 
as  was  afterwards  the  case,  he  was  rigorously  confined. 
Whether  we  read,  his  soul  entered  into  the  iron,  or  the  iron 
entered  info  his  soul,^  the  meaning,  which,  in  either  case,  is 
exactly  the  same,  amounts  to  this,  that  the  holy  man  was  so 
galled  with  fetters,  that  it  seemed  as  if  his  life  had  been  given 
over  to  the  sword.  Whence  it  follows,  that  the  safety  of  his 
life  was  as  hopeless  as  the  restoration  of  life  to  a  dead  body. 

19.  Until  the  time  that  his  word  came.  Here  the  prophet 
teaches,  that  although,  according  to  the  judgment  of  the 
flesh,  God  seems  to  be  too  tardy  in  his  steps,  yet  he  holds 

*  The  memory  of  this  circumstance  might,  therefore,  have  been  pre- 
served by  tradition  ;  or  it  may  be  simply  a  conclusion  drawn  from  Joseph's 
being  incarcerated,  and  from  the  crime  of  which  he  was  accused.  When 
it  is  considered  that  prisoners  were  ordinarily  secured  by  chains,  and 
when  the  magnitude  of  the  crime  charged  upon  him,  that  of  making  an 
attempt  upon  the  chastity  of  his  mistress,  is  farther  taken  into  account, 
it  is  a  very  probable  inference,  that  when  cast  into  prison,  he  was  put  in 
chains. 

2  The  first  of  these  readings  is  the  most  probable.  The  Hebrew  is  yc^^^ 
nxs  '?T"l2-  ''  The  verb  being  here  in  the  feminine  gender  shows  that  the 
subject  is  it^'SJ,  find  that  'ppH  is  accusative.  In  this  manner  the  phrase 
is  rendered  by  the  LXX.  c/Sw^ov  3r^7>^£w  '/;  ■>l^vx,n  avrov^  '  his  soul  passed 
through  iron  ;'  and  so  the  Syriac,  '  his  soul  went  into  iron  ;'  but  the 
Chaldee,  disregarding  the  gender,  has  taken  it  the  other  way,  '  the 
chain  of  iron  went  into  his  soul.' " — (Phillips'  Psalms  in  Hebrew^  with 
a  Critical^  Exegetical^  and  Philological  Commentary.) 


]88  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

supreme  rule  over  all  things,  that  he  may  at  length  accomplish 
in  due  time  what  he  has  determined.  As  to  the  term  icord, 
it  is  here  doubtless  to  be  taken,  not  for  doctrine  or  instruction, 
but  for  a  heavenly  decree.  The  relative  his  admits  of  being 
understood  as  well  of  God  liimself  as  of  Joseph ;  but  its  ap- 
plication to  the  latter  appears  to  me  to  be  preferable,  imply- 
ing that  Joseph  remained  in  prison  until  the  issue  of  his 
affliction  was  manifested,  Avhich  was  hidden  in  the  divine 
purpose.  It  is  always  to  be  kept  in  mind,  that  the  prophet 
calls  back  the  minds  of  men  from  that  impious  imagination, 
which  would  represent  fortune  as  exercising  a  blind  and  capri- 
cious control  over  human  affairs.  Since  nothing  could  be  more 
involved  in  uncertainty  than  the  welfare  of  the  Church, 
whilst  Joseph  was  accounted  as  a  condemned  person,  the 
prophet  here  elevates  our  minds,  and  bids  us  look  at  the  hid- 
den word,  that  is,  the  decree,  the  proper  opportunity  and  time 
for  the  manifestation  of  which  had  not  yet  arrived.  After 
the  same  manner  I  explain  what  follows,  the  word  of  God 
tried  him.     To  expound  it  of  Joseph's  prophesying,^  as  many 

1  It  is  so  understood  by  Dr  Kennicott.  He  refers  the  first  clause  of  the 
verse  to  the  completion  of  Joseph's  interpretation  of  the  dreams  of  the 
chief  butler  and  baker  ;  an  opinion  which  cannot  be  admitted,  for  Joseph 
was  not  delivered  at  that  time,  but  two  years  after  it,  Gen.  xli.  1.  He 
refers  the  second  clause  to  the  interpretation  of  Pharaoh's  dreams,  called 
the  "Word  or  Oracle  of  Jehovah,  because  sent  by  him  to  Pharaoh.  In  this 
sense  Hammond  also  interprets  it.  "  The  ivord  of  the  Lord.'"'  says  he,  '•  is 
God's  showing  him  the  meaning  of  those  dreams,  (Gen.  xli.  39,)  God's 
telling  him,  or  revealing  to  him,  the  intei-pretation  of  them."  Some  who 
take  this  view  explain  the  verb  tried^  not  as  referring  to  the  trial  of  Jo- 
seph's patience,  but  as  referring  to  the  proof  of  his  innocence.  "  C]-)V)" 
says  Street,  "in  its  primary  sense,  signifies  to  refine  metals^  or  to  examine 
their  purity  hy  fire :  by  metaphor  it  is  applied  to  the  human  heart,  and 
sigmhes  to  purify, to  p?-ove,toexa7nine;  but  as  metal,  already  free  from  dross, 
would  not  be  refined,  but  only  show  its  purity  on  being  assayed,  so  here 
the  word  seems  to  signify  showed  him  to  he  innocejit.  Joseph,  protesting  his 
innocence  to  Pharaoh's  butler,  says,  (Gen.  xl.  10,)  '  Here  also  have  I  done 
nothing  that  they  should  put  me  in  the  dungeon  ;'  and  Pharaoh  assigns 
it  as  his  reason  for  taking  him  from  prison,  and  setting  him  over  the  land 
of  Egypt,  (Gen.  xli.  38,)  'Can  ye  find  as  this  is  a  man  in  whom  the 
Spirit  of  God  is  ?  '  His  inten^reting,  by  the  inspiration  of  God,  their 
dreams,  exempted  him  at  once  from  being  any  longer  looked  on  as  a  crimi- 
nal, and  raised  him  to  the  highest  honours."  "This  word,"  says  Phillips, 
"  proved  Joseph,  or  purified  hau,  as  the  verb  literally  means,  for  it  made 
him  appear  pure  or  innocent  in  the  eyes  of  the  people,  who  were  thus 
assured  that  God  was  with  him,  and  that  he  must  therefore  be  a  pious 
person,  and  not  guilty  of  the  crime  for  which  he  was  thrown  into  a 
dungeon." 


rSALBI  (JV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  189 

do,  seems  too  refined.  Until  the  happy  issue  appeared,  which 
God  kept  long  hidden  and  in  suspense,  Joseph's  patience 
was  severely  tried.  What  worldly  men,  who  acknowledge 
not  God  to  be  the  Governor  of  human  affairs,  call  fate,  the 
prophet  distinguishes  by  a  more  appropriate  name,  terming 
it  word,  and  the  word  of  each  man.  Nor  do  I  see  any  im- 
propriety in  using  the  French  word  destinee.  When  the 
Stoics  dispute,  or  rather  babble,  about  destiny,  they  not  only 
involve  themselves  and  the  thing  also  of  which  they  treat  in 
intricate  mazes,  but,  at  the  same  time,  involve  in  perplexity 
an  indubitable  truth ;  for  in  imagining  a  concatenation  of 
causes,  they  divest  God  of  the  government  of  the  world.  It 
is  an  impious  invention  so  to  link  together  causes,  interwoven 
with  each  other,  as  that  God  himself  should  be  tied  to 
them.  Our  faith  then  ought  to  mount  up  to  his  secret 
counsel,  by  which,  uncontrolled,  he  directs  all  things  to  their 
end.  This  passage  also  teaches  us  that  God  will  continue  the 
afflictions  of  the  godly  only  until  they  are  thereby  thoroughly 
proved. 

20.  The  Icing  sent  and  loosed  Mm;  even  the  ruler  of  the  people, 

and  set  him  free. 

2 1 .  He  made  him  lord  over  his  house  ;  and  ruler  over  all  his  sub' 

stance : 

22.  To  bind  his  princes^  at  his  pleasure  ;  and  to  teach  his  elders 

wisdom. 

23.  And  Israel  came  into  Egypt ;  and  Jacob  sojourned  in  the 

land  of  Ham.^ 

24.  And  he  greatly  increased  his  people,  and  multiplied '  them 

above  their  oppressors. 


'  "  The  meaning  of  to  bind  his  princes  is  to  exercise  control  over  the 
gi'eatest  men  in  the  kingdom,  which  power  was  conferred  on  Joseph  by 
Pharaoh  :  see  Gen.  xli.  40  ;  also  verses  43,  44.  The  capability  of  binding 
is  to  be  regarded  as  an  evidence  of  anthority  ;  a  power  of  compelling 
obedience ;  or,  in  default  thereof,  of  inflicting  punishment." — Phillips. 

2  "  As  the  two  members  of  the  verse  express  substantially  the  same 
thing,  we  infer  the  land  of  Ham  to  be  the  same  as  Egypt.  Ham,  the 
son  of  Noah,  was  father  to  Mizraim,  who  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  founder 
of  the  Egyptians,  and  hence  the  two  names  of  the  country.  Jerome,  in 
his  note  on  Gen.  x.  6,  observes  that  Egypt  was  called  in  his  day,  in  the 
Egyptian  language,  by  the  name  of  Ham." — Ibid. 

^  "  On,  fortifia." — Fr.  manj.     "  Or,  strengthened." 


190  COMMENTARY  UrON  PSALM  CV. 

20.  The  king  sent  and  loosed  him.  The  Psalmist  celebrates 
in  high  terms  the  deliverance  oi"  Joseph ;  for  God's  singular 
power  was  conspicuously  displayed  in  a  matter  so  incredible. 
What  is  of  more  rare  occurrence  than  for  a  most  powerful 
monarch  to  bring  a  stranger  out  of  prison  to  constitute  him 
ruler  over  his  Avhole  kingdom,  and  to  raise  him  to  a  rank  of 
honour,  second  only  to  himself?  The  phrase  in  verse  22d,  to 
hind  his  princes,  is  commonly  explained  as  implying  that  Jo- 
seph was  invested  with  the  chief  sovereignty  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  government,  so  that  he  could  cast  into  prison, 
at  his  pleasure,  even  the  nobles  of  the  realm.  Others,  con- 
ceiving this  intei'prelation  to  be  somewhat  harsh,  derive  the 
verb  *)*lDi»57j  lesor,  which  Moses  employs,  not  from  ^D^{J  asar, 
which  signifies  to  hind,  but  from  "^DS  yasar,  which  signifies  to 
instruct,  by  changing  the  letter  "•,  yod,  into  i<,  aleph}  But  I 
am  surprised  that  neither  of  them  have  perceived  the  meta- 
phor contained  in  this  word,  which  is,  that  Joseph  held  the  lords 
of  Egypt  bound  to  him  at  his  pleasure,  or  subject  to  his  power. 
What  is  here  spoken  of  is  not  fetters,  but  thebondor  obligation 
of  obedience,  both  the  princes  and  all  others  being  dependent 
on  his  Avill.  The  expression,  which  is  added  a  little  after,  to 
teach  his  elders  wisdom,  evinces  that  Joseph  did  not  bear  sway 
like  a  tyrant,  difficult  and  rare  a  thing  as  it  is  for  men,  when 
invested  with  sovereign  power,  not  to  give  loose  reins  to  their 
own  humour :  but  that  he  was  a  rule  and  a  pattern,  even  to 
the  chief  of  them,  in  the  high  degree  of  discretion  which  he 
exemplified  in  the  administering  the  affairs  of  state. 

23.  And  Israel  came  into  Egypt.  The  prophet  does  not 
rehearse  the  whole  history,  nor  was  this  necessary.  He  only 
presents  to  our  view  how  divine  providence  was  concerned  in 
it,  which  very  few  consider  in  reading  the  narrative  of  Moses. 
He  accordingly  declares,  that  after  Joseph  had  been  sent  before 
into  Egypt,  to  be  the  means  of  supporting  his  father  and  the 
whole  family,  Jacob  then  came  into  Egypt,  that  is,  he  did  so 
when  all  things  were  admirably  arranged,  that  he  might  find 

1  "For  -iDX^)  the  LXX.,  Vulgate,  and  Jerome,  certainly  had  -id''^i  '  to 
tutor ;'  or  they  took  idx  in  the  sense  of  -)D^  as  they  took  it  iu  Hosea, 
chap.  X.  10." — Horsky. 


PSALM  CV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  191 

abundance  of  bread  among  a  people,  the  proudest  of  the 
whole  world/  when  all  others  were  perishing  for  want  of  food. 
From  this  it  appears,  that  what  is  accounted  to  be  slowness 
in  God,  tends  to  no  other  end  than  to  accomplish  his  work 
on  the  best  possible  occasion. 

24.  And  he  greatly  increased  his  people.  The  singular  fa- 
vour of  God  towards  his  Church  is  now  commended  by  the 
additional  circumstance,  that  within  a  short  space  of  time, 
the  chosen  people  increased  beyond  the  common  proportion. 
In  this  matter  the  wonderful  blessing  of  God  was  strikingly 
displayed.  So  much  the  more  offensive  then  is  the  barking 
of  some  dogs,  who  insolently  scoff  at  the  account  given  by 
Moses  of  the  multiplying  of  the  people,  because  it  goes  far 
beyond  what  takes  place  in  the  ordinary  course  of  things. 
Had  the  people  increased  only  at  the  common  rate,  these 
persons  would  have  immediately  objected,  that  therein  no 
work  of  God  was  to  be  seen.  Thus  the  object  which  they 
pursue  by  their  cavillings  is  nothing  else  than  to  make  it  to 
be  believed,  that  the  blessing  of  God  had  no  connection  with 
the  case.  But  we,  who  are  persuaded  that  it  is  unwarrant- 
able for  us  to  measure  God's  power  according  to  our  own 
understandings,  or  according  to  what  happens  by  the  com- 
mon law  of  nature,  reverently  admire  this  extraordinary  work 
of  his  hand.  The  subsequent  clause  is  a  little  obscure, 
especially  if  we  read.  The  people  were  strengthened ;^  for  the 
prophet  does  not  seem  to  refer  to  that  period  when  the  Is- 
raelites lived  at  ease  and  in  prosperity,  but  to  the  time  when 
they  were  contemptuously  and  barbarously  dealt  with  as 
slaves.  We  may,  however,  understand  the  language  as 
spoken  by  anticipation, — as  pointing  to  what  was  to  happen. 
In  the  following  verse,  it  is  affirmed,  that  the  Egyptians  hav- 
ing changed   their  mind,  began  to  treat  the  people  with 


^  "  En  iin  pciiplc  le  plus  supcrbe  de  tout  Ic  monde." — Fr. 

2  "The  root  n3':^y,"  says  Phillips,  "  signifies  to  be  strong,  not  only 
with  regard  to  physical  force,  but  also  with  respect  to  number :  Ps. 
xxxviii.  20 ;  xl.  6 ;  Ixix.  5,  &c. ;  in  German,  a  great  number  is  called 
eine  starkc  Anzahl^  a  strong  number,.  Number  seems  to  be  referred  to  in 
this  passage." 


192  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

cruelty.  Although  then  the  Egyptians  did  not  as  yet  openly 
exercise  their  cruelty  against  the  people,  when  they  were  in- 
creasing both  in  number  and  strength,  yet  the  prophet  calls 
them  persecutors.  It  is  certain,  that  the  Israelites,  even  when 
they  were  oppressed  as  slaves,  were  a  terror  to  their  enemies  ; 
and  Moses  plainly  affirms,  (Exod.  i.  12,)  that  when  they  were 
imder  tyranny  and  Avrongful  oppression,  it  was  still  abun- 
dantly manifest,  that  the  blessing  of  God  rested  upon  them. 

25.  He  turned  their  heart,  so  that  they  hated  his  people,  and  dealt 

craftily  with  his  servants. 

26.  He  sent  Moses  his  servant ;  Aaron  whom  he  had  chosen. 

"21 .    They  set  among  them  the  words  of  his  signs  and  his  miracles 
in  the  land  of  Ham. 

28.  He  sent  darkness,  and  made  it  dark  ;  and  they  were  not  re- 

hellious  against  his  icords. 

29.  He  turned  their  waters  into  blood,  and  killed  their  fish. 

30.  Their  land  brought  forth  frogs,  yea,  even  within  the  cham- 

bers of  their  kings. 

25.  He  turned  their  heart,  so  that  they  hated  Ids  people.  The 
Egyptians,  though  at  first  kind  and  courteous  hosts  to  the 
Israelites,  became  afterwards  cruel  enemies  ;  and  this  also 
the  prophet  ascribes  to  the  counsel  of  God.  They  Avere  un- 
doubtedly driven  to  this  by  a  perverse  and  malignant  spirit, 
by  pride  and  covetousness  ;  but  still  such  a  thing  did  not 
happen  Avithout  the  providence  of  God,  who  in  an  incompre- 
hensible manner  so  accomplishes  his  work  in  the  reprobate, 
as  that  he  brings  forth  light  even  out  of  darkness.  The  form 
of  expression  seems  to  some  a  little  too  harsh,  and  therefore 
they  translate  the  verb  passively,  their  {i.e.,  the  Egyptians') 
hearts  were  turned.  But  this  is  poor,  and  does  not  suit  the 
context ;  for  we  see  that  it  is  the  express  object  of  the  in- 
spired writer  to  put  the  whole  government  of  the  Church 
under  God,  so  that  nothing  may  happen  but  according  to 
his  will.  If  the  delicate  ears  of  some  are  offended  at  such 
doctrine,  let  it  be  observed,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  unequivo- 
cally affirms  in  other  places  as  well  as  here,  that  the  minds 
of  men  are  driven  hither  and  thither  by  a  secret  impulse, 


PSALM  CV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  193 

(Prov.  xxi.  1,)  so  that  they  can  neither  will  nor  do  any  thing 
except  as  God  pleases.     What  madness  is  it  to  embrace  no- 
thing but  what  commends  itself  to  human  reason?     What 
authority  will  God's  word  have,  if  it  is  not  admitted  any 
farther  than  we  are  inclined  to  receive  it  ?     Those  then  who 
reject  this  doctrine,  because  it  is  not  very  grateful  to  the 
human  understanding,  are  inflated  with  a  perverse  arrogance. 
Others  malignantly  misrepresent  it,  not  through  ignorance  or 
by  mistake,  but  only  that  they  may  excite  commotion  in  the 
Church,   or   to  bring  us   into    odium   among  the   ignorant. 
Some  over-timid  persons  could  wish,  for  the  sake  of  peace, 
that  this  doctrine  were  buried.     They  are  surely  ill  qualified 
for  composing  diiferences.     This  was  the  very  cause  why  in 
former  times  the  doctors  of  the  Church,  in  their  writings, 
swerved  from  the  pure  and  genuine  truths  of  the  gospel,  and 
turned  aside  to  a  heathen  philosophy.     Whence  originated 
the  doctrine  of  free-will,  whence  that  of  the  righteousness  of 
works,  but  because  these  good  fathers  were  afraid  of  giving 
occasion   to   evil-tongued  or   malignant  men  if  they  freely 
professed  what  is  contained  in  the  sacred  Scriptures  ?     And 
had  not  God,  as  it  were  by  a  strong  hand,  prevented  Au- 
gustine, he  would,  in  this  respect,  have  been  exactly  like  the 
rest.     But  God,  so  to  speak,  polishing  him  with  a  hammer, 
corrected  that  foolish  wisdom,  which  rears  its  crest  aofainst 
the  Holy  Spirit.     The  Holy  Spirit,  we  see,  affirms  that  the 
Egyptians  were  so  wicked,  that  God  turned  their  hearts  to 
hate  his  people.     The  middle-scheme  men  seek  to  evade  and 
qualify  this   statement,  by  saying,   that    his  turning  their 
hearts,    denotes   his    permitting   this  ;^    or,  that    when   the 
Egyptians  set  their  hearts  upon  hating  the  Israelites,  he  made 
use  of  their  malice,  as  what,  so  to  speak,  came  accidentally 
in  his  way ;  as  if  the  Holy  Spirit,  from  being  defective  in  the 
power  of  language,  spoke  one  thing,  when  he  meant  another. 
If  the  doctrine  of  this  text,  at  first  sight,  seem  strange  to  us, 
let  us  remember  that  God's  judgments,  in  other  places,  are 
justly  called  ''unsearchable,"  (Rom.  xi.  33,)  and  "  a  great 
deep,"  (Ps.  xxxvi.  6.)     Did  not  our  capacity  fail  in  reaching 

'  "  Chrysostom  says  that  he  turned  Is  the  same  as  he  permitted  to  turn. 
Sec  his  note  on  the  verse." — Phillips. 

VOL.  IV.  N 


194  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

the  height  of  them,  they  would  not  have  that  intricacy  and 
mystery  by  which  they  are  characterised.  It  is,  however, 
to  be  observed,  that  the  root  of  the  mahce  was  in  the 
Egyptians  themselves,  so  that  the  fault  cannot  be  transferred 
to  God.  I  say,  they  were  spontaneously  and  innately  wicked, 
and  not  forced  by  the  instigation  of  another.  In  regard  to 
God,  it  ought  to  suffice  us  to  know,  that  such  was  his  will, 
although  the  reason  may  be  unknown  to  us.  But  the  reason 
is  also  apparent,  which  vindicates  his  righteousness  from 
every  objection.  If  we  learn  and  keep  in  mind  only  this 
small  word  of  advice.  That  the  revealed  will  of  God  ought 
to  be  reverently  acquiesced  in,  we  will  receive,  without  dis- 
putation, those  mysteries  which  offend  either  the  proud,  or  such 
as  would  be  over-careful  to  remove  the  difficulties,  in  which, 
according  to  their  view,  such  mysteries  seem  to  be  involved. • 
The  prophet  next  expresses  the  manner  in  which  the  Egyptians 
Avrouo-ht  mischief  against  the  people  of  God  :  they  did  not  as- 
sault them  openly,  that  they  might  put  them  to  death,  but  they 
endeavoured,  in  the  way  of  craft  and  policy,  to  oppress  them 
by  little  and  little.  His  expression  is  borrowed  from  Moses 
himself.  And  it  is  purposely  used,  that  we  may  not  think 
that  the  hearts  of  the  ungodly  are  permitted  without  restraint 
to  work  our  destruction.  It  is  a  consideration  which  ought 
surely  to  satisfy  our  minds,  that  whatever  the  devil  and  wicked 
men  may  plot  against  us,  God  nevertheless  represses  their 
attempts.  But  it  is  a  double  confirmation  of  our  faith,  when 
we  hear  that  not  only  their  hands  are  bound,  but  also  their 
hearts  and  thoughts,  so  that  they  can  purjaose  nothing  except 
what  God  pleases. 

26.  He  sent  Moses  his  servant.  Here  the  prophet  briefly 
adverts  to  such  things  regarding  the  deliverance  of  the 
people  as  were  worthy  of  particular  notice.  Had  the 
Egyptians  of  their  own  accord  suffered  the  people  to  depart, 
neither  the  service  of  Moses  nor  miracles  would  have  been 
required.  God  then  appointed  that  their  deliverance  should 
take  place  in  such  a  way,  as  would  render  the  denial  of  his 

'  "  Ou  ceux  qui  venlent  estre  ti'op  prudens  por.r  remedier  aux  iiicou 
vcnicns,  cc  leur  serable."-  -Fr. 


PSALM  CV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  195 

being  its  author  impossible.  Moses  is  called  the  servant  of 
the  Lord,  to  teach  us  that  he  was  not  self-elected  to  his  office, 
and  that  he  attempted  nothing  by  his  own  authority,  but, 
being  the  minister  of  God,  executed  the  office  with  which  he 
had  been  intrusted.  The  same  thing  is  expressed  still  more 
plainly  with  respect  to  Aaron,  when  he  is  said  to  have  been 
chosen.  What  is  attributed  to  each  of  these  eminent  men  in 
particular,  applies  equally  to  both,  and  therefore  the  sentence 
ought  to  be  explained  thus  :  God  sent  Moses  and  Aaron,  his 
servants,  not  because  of  their  own  intrinsic  fitness,  or  because 
they  spontaneously  offered  to  him  their  service,  but  because 
he  chose  them.  This  passage  teaches  us,  that  those  who  are 
engaged  in  active  and  useful  service  for  the  Church,  are  not 
prepared  exclusively  by  their  own  exertions,  or  framed  to  it  by 
their  own  talents,  but  are  stirred  up  thereto  by  God.  Moses 
was  a  man  of  heroic  virtue  :  but,  considered  merely  in  himself, 
he  was  nothing.  Accordingly,  the  prophet  would  have  all 
that  is  accounted  worthy  of  remembrance  in  Moses,  as  well 
as  in  Aaron,  to  be  asci'ibed  to  God  alone.  Thus  it  appears 
that  whatever  men  do  for  the  welfare  of  the  Church,  they 
owe  the  power  of  doing  it  to  God,  who,  of  his  free  goodness, 
has  been  pleased  thus  to  honour  them. 

27.  They  set  among  them  the  words  of  his  signs}  The  pro- 
phet, in  the  first  place,  briefly  glances  at  those  things  which 
Moses  has  detailed  at  greater  length.  Nor  does  he  follow  the 
order  of  the  events  observed  in  the  history  ;  for  he  contents 
himself  with  showing,  that  the  deliverance  of  the  chosen 
people  was  the  work  of  God.  He  again  distinguishes  between 
the  power  of  God,  and  the  ministry  of  Moses  and  Aaron. 
He  indeed  asserts  that  these  men  performed    miracles,  but 


'  "  The  words  of  Ids  signs^ — i.  e.,  declarations  ;  wlucli  were  afterwards 
confirmed  by  miracles." — Cresswell.  "  In  tliis  plirase,"  says  Hammond, 
"  the  words  of  his  signs  or  prodigies^  '•"121 1  words,  seems  to  be  some- 
Avliat  more  tlian  a  pleonasm.  God  had  told  them  what  signs  they  should 
nse,  to  convince  the  people  first,  and  then  Pharaoh,  of  their  mission ; 
and  so  in  each  judgment  God  commands,  and  they  show  the  sign  ;  and 
God's  thus  telling  or  speaking  to  them  is,  properly,  n^T?  words^  and  the 
matter  of  these  words  expressed  by  VDinXi  signs  or  prodigies  of  his, — 
viz.,  which  as  he  directed,  he  would  also  enable  them  to  do  among  them." 


196  COMMENTAEY  UPON  PSALM  CT. 

these  miracles  proceeded  from  God,  so  that  celestial  power 
was  not  obscurely  displayed  by  their  instrumentality. 

In  the  28th  verse  he  specifies  one  of  these  miracles,  which 
yet  was  not  the  first  in  order,  but  from  which  it  is  easy  to 
gather  that  God  was  the  author  of  the  deliverance  of  Israel, 
and  in  which  the  course  of  nature  was  entirely  changed  ;  for 
nothing  is  more  astonishing  than  to  see  the  light  turned  into 
darkness.  In  the  second  clause,  he  commends  the  faithful- 
ness of  Moses  and  Aaron,  in  courageously  executing  what- 
ever God  had  commanded  them  :  And  they  were  not  rebellious 
against  his  loords}  There  was,  as  if  it  had  been  said,  the 
most  perfect  harmony  between  the  command  of  God  and  the 
obedience  of  both  his  servants. 

29.  He  turned  their  waters  into  blood.  How  grievous  this 
plague  was  to  the  Egyptians  may  be  conjectured  from  the 
consideration,  that  the  element  of  water  is  one  of  the  two 
great  means  of  supporting  life.  And  the  power  of  God 
shines  forth  the  brighter,  from  the  fact,  that  although  the 
land  of  Egypt  is  well  irrigated,  yet  the  Egyptians  w^ere 
parched  with  drought  amidst  abundance  of  water.  It  is 
afterwards  said,  that  frogs  were  brought  forth^  and  entered 
even  into  the  chambers  of  the  kings ;  by  which  God  manifestly 

'  They  executed  the  command  of  God,  with  respect  to  the  plagues 
brought  on  the  Egyptians,  although  they  knew  that  in  thus  acting  they 
would  incm-  the  heavy  displeasure  of  Pharaoh,  and  expose  theii*  lives  to 
considerable  danger.  "  The  import  of  ^  "iiDi  t^^^y  resisted  not,^'  says 
Hammond,  "  seems  no  more  than  what  is  atfirmed  in  the  story,  Exod.  x. 

21,  22,  '  The  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  Stretch  out  thy  hand. And  Moses 

stretched  forth  his  hand,' — /.  e.,  readily  obeyed,  and  did  what  God 
directed,  and  that  at  a  time  when  Pharaoh  was  likely  to  be  incensed, 
and  vehemently  offended  with  him  and  Aaron.  For  which  consideration 
the  story  there  gives  us  this  farther  ground:  for  as,  verse  10,  he  had  before 
expressed  some  anger  and  threats, — '  Look  to  it,  for  evil  is  before  you,' 
and  '  they  were  driven  from  his  presence,'  verse  11 ;  so  now,  upon  the  har- 
dening his  heart,  which  follows  this  plague  of  darkness,  he  said  to  Moses, 
*  Get  thee  from  me,  take  heed  to  thyself,  see  my  face  no  more,  for  in  that 
day  thou  seest  my  face  thou  shalt  die  the  death,'  verse  28.  This  rage  of 
Pharaoh,  Moses  in  reason  might  well  foresee,  but  he  dreaded  it  not ;  but 
boldly  did  as  God  dii-ected,  and  that  is  the  meaning  of  '  they  resisted 
not  God's  word.' " 

^  The  Hebrew  verb  for  brought  forth  is  y'd  sliarats,  which  signifies  to 
multiply  exceedingly;  and  "  the  noun  is  used  for  creeping  things,  because 
they  procreate  in  great  abundance.  It  cannot  therefore  be  more  fitly 
translated,  as  is  observed  by  Hammond,  than  by  swarming," — Phillips. 


PSALM  CV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  197 

evinced  tbat  he  was  the  author  of  the  miracle ;  for  although 
all  Egypt  swarmed  with  frogs,  the  courts  of  the  kings  ought 
to  have  been  exempt  from  this  nuisance.  By  the  term  kings, 
is  denoted  either  the  nobles  of  the  realm,  or  the  king's  sons, 
who  were  brought  up  in  the  ex^jectation  of  the  royal  power ; 
for  at  that  time,  as  is  well  known,  one  king  alone  reigned 
over  all  Egypt.  From  this  we  learn  how  easily,  and  as  it 
were  by  a  kind  of  mockery,  God  humbles  those  who  pride 
themselves  in  the  flesh.  He  did  not  gather  together  an  army 
to  fight  against  the  Egyptians,  nor  did  he  forthwith  arm  his 
angels,  or  thunder  out  of  heaven,  but  brought  forth  frogs, 
which  contemptuously  trampled  upon  the  pride  of  that 
haughty  nation,  who  held  in  contempt  the  whole  world 
beside.  It  would  have  been  no  disjjrace  for  them  to  have 
been  conquered  by  powerful  enemies  ;  but  how  dishonourable 
was  it  to  be  vanquished  by  frogs  ?  God  thus  intended  to 
show  that  he  has  no  need  of  powerful  hosts  to  destroy  the 
wicked ;  for  he  can  do  this,  as  it  were  in  sport,  whenever  he 
pleases. 

31.  He  spake,  and  there  came  a  swarm  offiies,^  and  lice^  in  all 
their  borders. 


1  The  origiual  word  for  a  swarm  of  flies  is  my,  arob.  For  some  ac- 
count of  the  noxious  insects  here  meant,  see  vol.  iii.  p.  258,  note  2. 

''■  The  Hebrew  word  for  lice  is  □''^d,  kannim.  The  reading  in  the 
Septuagint  is  ax.vi(pi;^  and  in  the  Vulgate  sciniphes,  which  signifies  a 
species  of  little  gnats  that  sting  painfully  in  the  marshy  country  of  Egypt ; 
the  culex  reptans  of  Linnajus,  or  the  culex  molestus  of  Forskal.  In  sup- 
port of  the  accuracy  of  this  interpretation  it  has  been  said,  that  as  the 
translators  of  the  Septuagint  dwelt  in  Egyj^t,  it  can  hardly  be  supposed 
that  they  were  ignorant  of  what  Avas  intended  by  the  Hebrew  name. 
Philo,  an  Alexandrian  Jew,  and  Origen,  a  Christian  father,  who  likewise 
lived  at  Alexandria,  have  also  been  produced  as  confirming  this  inter- 
pretation. Both  Philo  and  Origen  represent  these  insects  as  being  very 
small,  but  very  troublesome.  The  latter  describes  them  as  winged 
insects,  but  so  small  as  to  escape  any  but  the  acutest  sight ;  and  says, 
that  Avhen  settled  on  the  body,  they  wound  it  with  a  most  sharp  and 
painful  piercer.  Jerome  also  supports  this  view,  while  Gesenius,  Booth- 
royd,  and  others,  concm-  in  it.  The  Jewish  interpreters,  however,  and 
Josephus,  understand  the  original  word  as  denoting  lice;  which  has  been 
adopted  by  the  translators  of  our  English  Bible,  and  which  Bochart  likewise 
follows,  with  most  of  the  modern  commentators.  Bochart  argues  that 
gnats  could  not  be  intended : — 1.  Because  the  creatures  here  mentioned 
sprang  from  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and  not  from  the  waters.  2.  Because  they 
wore  both  on  men  and  cattle,  which  cannot  be  spoken  of  gnats.  3.  Because 


198  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

32.  He  gave  them  hail  for  rain,  and  fiaming  fire  upon  their  land. 

33.  And  he  smote  their  vines  and  their  fig-trees  ;  and  destroyed 

the  trees  throughout  their  borders. 

34.  He  spalce,  and  the  grasshopper  came,  and  the  caterpillar^ 

without  number, 

35.  And  they  devoured  all  the  herbage  in  their  land,  and  consumed 

the  fruit  of  their  ground. 

36.  And  he  smote  all  the  first-born  in  their  country,  even  the  be- 

ginning of  all  their  strength.^ 
37«  And  he  brought  them  forth  with  silver  and  gold  :  nor  was 

there  a  feeble  person  among  his  tribes. 
38-   Egypt  rejoiced  at  their    departure  :  for  their  terror  had 

fallen  upon  them. 

31.  He  spake,  and  there  came  a  stvarm  ofjlies.     By  the  word 

their  name  comes  from  a  root  which  signifies  to  make  firm,  fix,  establish, 
which  could  not  apply  to  gnats,  flies,  &c.,  as  they  are  almost  constantly 
on  the  wing.  4.  Because  n33»  kinah,  is  the  term  given  by  the  Talmud- 
ists  for  louse.  The  translation  given  by  Calvin,  and  in  our  English 
Bible,  appears  the  most  correct,  but  whichever  we  adopt,  it  is  necessary  to 
conclude  (which  the  history  expressly  states)  that  the  creatures  were 
brought  in  swarms,  most  extraordinary  even  for  Egypt,  and  thus  a  mi- 
raculous interposition  was  made  manifest.  "Hiis  judgment  Avas  the  more 
noisome  and  disgi'aceful  to  the  Egyptians,  from  the  great  external  purity 
Avhich  they  affected,  and  from  their  being  very  nice  both  in  their  persons 
and  clothing ;  bathing  and  making  ablutions  continually.  They  were 
particularly  solicitous  not  to  harbour  any  vermin,  thinking  it  would  be  a 
great  profanation  of  the  temple  which  they  entered,  if  any  animalculae 
of  this  sort  were  concealed  in  their  garments. 

\  The  Hebrew  word  translated  caterpillar  is  p^i,  yelek.  This  word  is  in 
our  English  Bible  rendered  caterpillar  here,  and  in  Jeremiah  li.  27  ;  but 
in  Joel  i.  4,  ii.  25,  and  Nahum  iii.  15,  it  is  rendered  cankerworm.  In  the 
passage  in  Nahum  the  creature  is  spoken  of  as  winged  and  bristled,  whence 
some  commentators  suppose  that  a  kind  of  locust  is  intended.  "  It 
certainly  means  some  insect  remarkable  for  destroying  vegetables,  pro- 
bably the  '  chafer'  or  '  maybug,'  fi^ovxog,  as  the  LXX.  render  it  hi  five 
passages  out  of  eight  whei'ein  it  occurs.  The  Vulgate  throughout  i-enders 
it  brtichus,  the  '  chafei'.'  Michaelis  thinks  it  means  the  '  chafer,'  particu- 
larly in  its  vermicular  state,  when  it  is  much  more  destructive  to  plants, 
namely,  by  gnawing,  eating,  and  cankering  their  roots,  than  after  it  has 
taken  wing." — Parkhursfs  Lexicon  on  p'pi,  under  p^,  ii. 

2  The  beginning.,  or  the  first  fruit  of  all  their  strength,  is  understood  by 
Lowth  to  mean  the  first-born  of  the  mother.  His  note  on  the  verse  in 
MerricKs  Annotations  is  as  follows : — "  ''ATra^x'^'^  -ttouov,  Primitias 
laboris  vel  partus.  LXX.  Vulg.  Hieron.  Compare  Gen.  xxxv.  18. 
This,  I  think,  is  the  right  translation.  The  first-born,  that  were  slain 
on  this  occasion,  were  those  that  opened  the  womb  ;  the  first-born  of  the 
mother,  not  of  the  father,  as  it  appears  from  the  circumstances  of  the 
history."  The  first-bom  of  cattle  is  no  doubt  also  intended. — See 
Gen,  xUx.  3  ;  and  Psalm  Ixxviii.  51. 


PSALM  CV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  199 

spake,  the  Psalmist  intimates  that  the  flies  and  lice  came  not 
forth  by  chance.  The  command,  we  know,  was  uttered  by 
the  mouth  of  Moses  ;  for  although  God  could  have  given  the 
command  himself,  he  interposed  Moses  as  his  herald.  God, 
however,  gave  no  less  efficacy  to  his  word,  when  he  com- 
manded it  to  be  uttered  by  a  man,  than  if  he  himself  had 
thundered  from  heaven.  When  the  minister  executes  his 
commission  faithfully,  by  speaking  only  what  God  puts  into 
his  mouth,  the  inward  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  joined  with 
his  outward  voice.  Here  again  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the 
Egyptians  were  afflicted  Avith  the  plague  of  the  flies  and  lice, 
that  God,  with  the  greater  ignominy,  might  subdue  their 
rebellion  and  obstinacy.  When  it  is  said,  that  he  gave  them 
hail  for  rain,  it  denotes  a  hail  of  such  appalling  violence,  that 
it  could  not  be  attributed  to  natural  causes.  It  is  probable 
that  Egypt  is  not  so  subject  to  this  annoyance  as  other 
countries,  and  it  is  very  seldom  visited  even  with  rain, 
being  watered  with  the  Nile.  This  made  it  appear  to  the 
Egyptians  the  more  wonderful  that  their  country  was  stricken 
with  hail.  To  render  this  calamity  the  more  dreadful,  God 
also  mingled  with  it  fire.  The  hail,  then,  was  accompanied 
with  a  tempestuous  whirlwind,  that  the  Egyptians  who  had 
hardened  themselves  against  the  other  miracles,  inspired  with 
terror,  might  know  that  they  had  to  deal  with  God. 

34.  He  spake,  and  the  grasshopper  came.  This  calamity, 
which  was  brought  upon  the  fields,  could  not  be  attributed 
to  Fortune;  for  the  grasshoppers  made  their  appearance  sud- 
denly and  in  countless  midtitudes,  so  that  they  covered  all  the 
land  of  Egypt.  The  miracle  was  very  evident  from  the  word 
spoken,  by  which  it  was  introduced.  Its  being  announced 
as  to  happen,  removed  all  doubt  of  its  being  the  work  of  the 
Most  High.  Accordingly,  it  is  expressly  said,  that  grass- 
hoppers and  caterpillars  rushed  in  at  the  commandment  of 
God,  as  if  soldiers  should  run  to  battle  at  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet.  Whenever  these  insects  molest  us  and  destroy  the 
fruits  of  the  earth,  they  are  assuredly  the  scourges  of  God, 
but  it  is  here  intended  to  point  out  an  extraordinary  work  of 
his  hand.     In  fine,  the  prophet  recites  the  last  miracle,  which 


200  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

was  wrought  by  the  angel  on  the  night  previous  to  the  de- 
parture of  the  people,  when  he  slew  all  the  first-born 
throughout  Egypt.  I  only  take  a  hasty  and  passing  glance 
at  this  history,  as  I  have,  in  like  manner,  done  of  the  other  facts 
preceding,  because  they  have  been  more  copiously  treated 
elsewhere,  and  at  this  time  it  is  sufficient  for  us  to  know  the 
design  of  the  sacred  writer.  He,  however,  amplifies  this  dis- 
play of  the  Divine  power  by  a  repetition,  declai'ing  that  the 
first-born  and  thejlower  of  their  strength  were  destroyed.  Some 
translate,  but  unhappily.  The  heginning  of  their  sorrow.  As 
man's  strength  shows  itself  in  generation,  the  Hebrews  term 
the  first-begotten  tJie  beginning  of  strength,  as  we  have  ex- 
plained on  Gen.  xlix.  3, — "  Reuben,  thou  art  my  first-born, 
my  might,  and  the  beginning  of  my  strength." 

37.  And  lie  brought  them  forth  with  silver  and  gold.^  The 
prophet,  on  the  other  hand,  celebrates  the  grace  of  God  which 
preserved  the  chosen  people  untouched  and  safe  from  all 
these  plagues.  If  both  parties  had  been  indiscriminately 
afflicted  with  them,  the  hand  of  God  would  not  have  been  so 
signally  manifest.  But  now  when  the  Israelites,  amidst  so 
many  calamities,  experienced  an  entire  exemption  from  harm, 
this  difference  exhibits  to  us,  as  in  a  picture,  God's  fatherly 
care  about  his  own  people.  For  this  reason,  it  is  stated,  Nor 
icas  there  a  feeble  person,  or  one  who  stumbled  f  for  the  verb 
7gJ>3,  kashal,  has  both  these  meanings.  But  I  prefer  taking 
it  simply  in  this  sense.  That  whilst  Egypt  was  hastening  to 
destruction,  the  people  of  God  were  vigorous,  and  free  from 
every  malady.  When  it  is  said.  He  brought  them  forth,  and 
when  it  is  afterwards  added,  in  his  tribes,  there  is  a  change  of 

'  Allusion  is  made  to  the  Israelites  canying  with  them  iu  their  de- 
parture from  Egypt,  jewels  of  silver,  and  jewels  of  gold,  which  they  bor- 
rowed of  the  Egyptians,  Exod.  xii.  36. 

2  "  And  there  was  not  any  one  stumbling  amoiig  his  tribes.  The  LXX. 
have  rendered  ^t>>i3  by  dadsv/ig,  infirm,  so  that  they  understood  the  Psalm- 
ist to  say,  there  was  no  one  incapable  of  following  the  multitude, — no 
one  was  prevented  by  disease  or  infirmity  from  accomplishing  the  jour- 
ney."— Phillips.  What  a  striking  contrast  between  their  condition  and 
that  of  their  oppressors !  While  in  eAcry  Egyptian  dwelling,  death  had 
left  his  victim,  not  one  of  all  the  children  of  Israel  was  unable  to  prose- 
cute his  heaven-directed  flight  from  that  laud  of  bondage. 


PSALM  CV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  201 

the  number,  which  Is  quite  common  in  the  Hebrew  language. 
Some  refer  the  word  his  to  God ;  but  this  I  am  afraid  is  too 
forced. 

38.  Egypt  rejoiced  at  their  departure.  The  Psalmist  sets  forth 
the  power  of  God  from  the  additional  circumstance,  that  the 
Egyptians  willingly  allowed  the  chosen  people  to  depart, 
when  yet  nothing  was  farther  from  their  intention.  Although 
they  wished  them  destroyed  a  hundred  times,  yet  they  thought 
that  they  had  the  wolf  by  the  ears,  as  we  say  ;^  and  thus  the 
fear  of  revenge  made  them  more  determined  to  blot  out  the 
memory  of  that  people.  Whence  it  follows,  that  when  they 
all  at  once  laid  aside  their  former  purpose,  it  was  a  secret 
work  of  divine  providence.^  To  the  same  effect  is  the  state- 
ment in  the  preceding  verse,  that  they  were  brought  forth  with 
gold  and  silver.  The  Egyptians  could  never  have  had  the 
heart  voluntarily  to  strip  themselves,  to  enrich  those  whom 
they  would  have  willingly  deprived  of  life.  This  was  then 
the  bounty  of  God,  in  whose  hand,  and  at  whose  disposal,  are 
all  the  riches  of  the  world.  He  might  have  taken  by  force 
from  the  Egyptians  what  he  had  given  them  ;  but  he  bowed 
their  hearts,  so  that  of  their  own  accord  they  denuded  them- 
selves. The  expression,  ybr  their  terror  had  fallen  upon  them,  is 
to  be  understood  passively  ;  for  the  Israelites  were  not  afraid 
of  the  Egyptians,  but,  on  the  contrary,  were  terrible  to  them. 
Nor  does  the  prophet  speak  of  an  ordinary  fear.  A  little 
before  fear  had  stirred  them  up  to  cruelty  and  tyranny ;  but 
as  even  to  that  day,  they  had  endeavoured,  with  indomitable 
audacity,  to  shake  off  all  fear,  God  suddenly  laid  them  pros- 
trate by  the  extraordinary  terror  which  fell  upon  them.  It  is, 
therefore,  here  justly  reckoned  among  the  displays  of  the 
wonderful  power  of  God,  that  he  subdued  the  impetuous  fury 

'  The  meaning  of  this  proverb  is  to  be  in  danger,  or  hard  set  on  every 
side  ;  for  if  you  hold  the  wolf,  he  bites  you  by  the  fingers  ;  if  you  let  iiim 
go,  he  may  destroy  you. 

2  From  the  heavy  and  overwhelming  judgments  inflicted  upon  Pharaoh 
and  his  people,  for  refusing  to  alloAv  the  Israelites  to  depart,  they  came 
to  associate  the  presence  of  that  people  in  their  land,  with  the  most  ter- 
rible manifestations  of  divine  displeasure.  This  at  last  led  them,  after  all 
their  inveterate  impenitence,  to  hail  with  gi-atitude  the  departure  of  the 
hated  tribes. 


202  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

"with  which  the  Egyptians  boiled  before,  that  they  might  al- 
low those  to  depart  free,  whom  they  had  determined  to  handle 
rudely,  and  to  waste  in  servile  employments ;  which  was  like 
rendering  sheep  terrible  to  wolves.   . 

39.  He  spread  out  a  cloud  for  a  covering  ;  and  fire  to  give  light 

during  the  night. 

40.  They  asked,  and  he  brought  quails,^  and  filled  them  with  the 

bread  of  heaven. 

41 .  Me  opened  the  rock,  and  the  waters  gushed  out  ;  they  ran  in 

the  dry  places  like  a  river. 

42.  For  he  remembered  his  holy  promise,  which  he  had  spoken  to 

Abraham  his  servant. 

43.  And  he  brought  forth  his  people  with  joy,  and  his  chosen  with 

gladness. 

39.  He  spread  out  a  cloud  for  a  covering.  The  Psalmist 
enumerates  certain  miracles  by  which  God  continued  his 
grace  towards  his  people  in  the  wilderness.  This  order  is 
worthy  of  notice ;  for  it  was  no  small  confirmation  which  was 
added  to  that  incomparable  work  of  redemption,  when  God 
ceased  not  to  show  himself  the  guide  of  their  joui'ney.  Ac- 
cordingly, after  they  had  passed  through  the  Red  Sea,  he 
spread  a  cloud  over  them  by  day  to  protect  them  from  the 
heat  of  the  sun ;  and  daring  the  night,  he  gave  them  light  by  a 
pillar  of  fire,  that  even  in  the  midst  of  the  darkness  they  might 
have  a  bright  token  of  his  presence.  This  continued  display 
of  his  goodness  was  surely  an  unquestionable  proof  of  his  per- 
petual love,  an  open  demonstration  that  he  had  adopted  the 
children  of  Abraham,  to  foster  them  under  his  protection 
even  to  the  end.  What  follows  concerning  quails,  is  intro- 
duced for  a  different  purpose  than  that  for  which  reference  is 
made  to  the  same  fact  in  Ps.  Ixxviii.  26.  In  that  passage, 
God's  bringing  in  an  abundance  of  quails  is  ascribed  rather 
to  his  wrath  than  to  his  beneficence,  that  the  people  might 
satiate  the  flesh ;  and  we  have  seen  in  the  exposition  of  that 
place,  that  this  is  mentioned  as  a  matter  of  reproach  to  them. 
But  in  the  text  before  us,  passing  over  their  ingratitude,  the 

*  See  vol.  iii.  p.  248,  note. 


PSALM  CV.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  203 

prophet  celebrates  the  unremitting  exercise  of  the  divine 
loving-kindness  towards  them.  Some,  however,  may  be 
rather  inclined  to  take  the  word  ask  in  a  bad  sense,  because 
the  people  besought  not  God  with  humility,^  but  through 
their  impatience  proceeded  at  once  to  murmuring,  or  rather 
arrogantly  spake  against  him.  Thus  taken,  the  passage,  by 
way  of  amplification,  would  mean  that  God,  departing  from 
his  own  right,  humoured  even  their  unhallowed  lust.  As, 
however,  their  fault  is  not  here  mentioned,  let  us  rest  in  that 
meaning  which  is  the  most  simple,  namely,  that  the  blessings  by 
which  God  ratified  the  redemption  which  he  had  wrought  are 
here  clustered  together.  It  next  follows,  that  they  were  filled 
ivith  the  bread  of  heaven.  This  appellation,  as  we  have  seen 
elsewhere,  is  given  to  the  manna  by  way  of  eminence.  The 
natural  way  in  which  the  food  which  we  eat  is  obtained  is 
from  the  ground  ;  but  God  then  opened  his  hand  more  widely 
to  the  Jews,  and  fed  them  even  from  heaven.  As  it  was  not 
enough  for  them  to  be  refreshed  with  food  when  they  were 
hungry,  unless  they  were  also  supplied  with  drink,  it  is 
added,  that  the  rock  was  opened,  and  that  the  loaters  flowed  from 
it  through  the  dry  places,  or  the  desert. 

42.  For  he  remembered  his  holy  promise.  The  Psalmist 
again  mentions  the  cause  why  God  dealt  so  graciously  with 
that  people,  and  sustained  them  so  tenderly,  namely,  that  he 
might  fulfil  his  promise ;  for  he  had  entered  into  a  covenant 
with  Abraham,  engaging  to  be  the  God  of  his  seed.  Nor  did 
the  prophets  without  cause  teach  so  carefully  as  we  find  them 
doing,  that  the  free  covenant  is  the  fountain  whence  the  de- 
liverance, and  the  continual  welfare  of  the  people  flowed. 
Thereby  the  grace  of  God  became  better  known,  since  what 
took  place,  so  far  from  hapjiening  upon  the  sudden,  and  with- 
out anticipation,  was  only  the  fulfilment  of  what  he  had  pro- 
mised four  hundred  years  before.  God  then,  for  ages  pi'evious 
to  this,  gave  the  light  of  his  word  of  promise,  that  his  grace 
and  truth  might  be  brought  the  more  distinctly  into  view. 

^  "  It  does  not  appear  from  the  history,  that  the  Israelites  supplicated 
God  at  all,  but  only  murmured  against  Moses  and  Aaron  for  bringing 
them  into  the  wilderness." — Phillips. 


204  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CV. 

For  this  reason  the  prophet  again  repeats,  that  God  was  not 
led  from  some  new  cause  to  deliver  his  people,  but  that  his 
design  in  doing  so  was  to  prove  the  faithfulness  of  his  cove- 
nant, and  to  give  it  effect ;  just  as  if  a  man  should  dig  up 
from  the  ground  a  treasure  which  he  had  buried  in  it.  Nor 
is  it  to  be  doubted,  that  the  prophet  aimed  at  leading  the 
faith  of  his  countrymen  still  farther, — that  his  object  was 
that  their  posterity  might  be  persuaded  beyond  all  doubt, 
that  as  God  had  then  proved,  in  the  experience  of  that 
generation,  the  sure  and  substantial  truth  of  his  promise 
delivered  many  hundred  years  before,  so  he  would  not  be  to 
them  otherwise  than  their  fathers  had  found  him  to  be  in 
times  past.  Accordingly,  he  signalises  this  promise  by  the 
epithet,  holy,  intimating,  that  after  the  death  of  Abraham  it 
retained  its  virtue  and  efficacy  unimpaired.  God  had  spoken 
it  to  Abraham ;  but  the  force  of  the  covenant  died  not  with 
him.  God  continued  to  show  himself  faithful  towards  the 
posterity  of  the  patriarch. 

43.  And  he  brought  forth  his  people  with  joy.  The  prophet 
makes  mention  o^  joy  and  gladness,  the  more  highly  to  mag- 
nify the  greatness  of  God's  grace.  It  was  no  small  matter, 
that  at  the  very  time  when  the  Egyptians  were  afflicted  by  a 
severe  and  dreadful  plague, — when  the  whole  kingdom  was 
full  of  weeping  and  howling, — and  when  in  almost  every 
house  there  was  a  dead  body, — the  people  who  a  little  before 
were  groaning  in  great  distress,  or  rather  lay  almost  dead, 
went  forth  with  joyful  hearts.  By  the  appellation  the  chosen 
of  God,  they  are  reminded,  that  his  favour  was  not  thus  ex- 
ercised towards  them  on  account  of  their  own  merits,  or  on 
account  of  the  worth  of  their  race,  but  because  he  had 
adopted  them,  that  men  having  nothing  left  them  in  which 
to  vaunt  themselves  might  learn  to  glory  in  God  alone. 

44.  And  he  gave  them  the  countries  of  the  nations  :  and  they 

possessed  the  labour  of  the  peoples.'^ 

1  That  is,  the  products  of  their  labour  ;  their  buildings,  vineyards,  cul- 
tivated fields,  &c.  The  Israelites  took  possession  of  the  laud  of  Canaan, 
and  of  course  possessed  themselves  of  the  advantages  arising  from  its  occu- 


PSALM  CVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  205 

45.    That  they  might  observe  his  ordinances,  and  keep  his  law. 
Halleluiah. 

44.  And  he  gave  them  the  countries  of  the  nations.  The 
Psalmist  sets  forth  the  final  cause  why  God  in  so  many  ways 
displayed  his  wonderful  power  in  redeeming  the  people,  why 
he  did  not  cease  to  cherish  and  defend  them  in  the  desert, — 
why  he  gave  them  the  possession  of  the  land  as  he  had  pro- 
mised ;  and  this  was,  that  they  might  dedicate  and  devote 
themselves  wholly  to  his  service.  And,  in  fact,  the  end  which 
God  proposed  in  our  election  was,  that  he  might  have  on  the 
earth  a  people  by  whom  he  should  be  called  upon  and  served. 
The  more  eflPectually  to  stir  up  the  Jews  to  gratitude,  the 
prophet  magnifies  the  greatness  of  the  divine  goodness,  by  de- 
claring, that  they  occupied  far  and  wide  the  countries  of  the 
nations,  and  that  all  the  property  which  many  states  had  ac- 
quired with  great  labour,  they  now  possessed  as  it  were  by 
right  of  inheritance.  The  plural  number,  both  as  to  the  word 
countries  and  nations,  serves  to  exhibit  in  a  still  more  striking 
light  the  divine  goodness  in  this  matter.  The  psalm  con- 
cludes with  briefly  defining  the  manner  of  glorifying  God, 
That  they  might  keep  his  law.  It  would  not  be  enough  to  ce- 
lebrate his  grace  only  with  the  tongue.  To  this  there  must 
be  added  pi'actical  and  experimental  piety.  And  as  God 
rejects  all  religious  services  of  men's  invention,  the  only  way 
of  rightly  serving  him  which  remains,  consists  in  keeping  his 
commandments. 


PSALM  CVI. 

This  psalm  differs  from  the  preceding,  inasmuch  as  there  the  Psalmist 
showed  that  God  had  been  more  than  a  bountiful  father  to  his 
chosen  people,  in  order  to  procure  for  himself,  in  coming  ages,  a  race 

pation,  and  cultivation  by  those  who  previously  inhabited  it. — See  Deut. 
vi.  10,  11  ;  Joshua  xxiv.  13. 


206  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  CVl. 

of  pure  worshippers,  while  here  he  acknowledges  that  these  remarkable 
benefits  had  been  turned  to  a  bad  account ;  because  the  Jews  from 
time  to  time  threw  off  the  yoke  of  God,  basely  abused  his  kindness, 
defiled  themselves  with  many  pollutions,  and  also  perfidiously  departed 
from  his  word.  Nevertheless,  it  is  not  so  much  in  the  shape  of  a 
reproof  or  complaint,  as  a  confession  of  their  sins,  in  order  to  the  ob- 
taining the  pardon  of  them.  For  the  prophet  commences  with  the 
praises  of  God,  with  the  design  of  encouraging  both  himself  and  others 
to  cherish  good  hope  in  him.  Then  he  prays  that  God  would  continue 
his  blessing  to  the  seed  of  Abraham.  But  because  the  people,  after  so 
frequently  revolting  from  God,  were  unworthy  of  the  continuation  of 
his  kindness,  he  asks  pardon  to  be  extended  to  them,  and  this  after  he 
had  confessed  that  from  first  to  last,  they  had  provoked  God's  wrath 
by  their  malice,  ingratitude,  pride,  perfidy,  and  other  vices.i 

1 .  Halleluiah.^     Praise  ye  Jehovah  ;  because  he  is  good  :^  be- 

cause his  mercy  endureth  for  ever. 

2.  Who  shall  express  the  power  of  Jehovah  ?  who  shall  declare 

all  his  praise  ? 

3.  Blessed  are  they  that  keep  judgment,  and  blessed  is  he  who 

worketh  in  righteousness  at  all  times.^ 

4.  Remember  me,    0  Jehovah  !  with  the  good  will  lohich  thou 

bearest  towards  thy  peop>le  :  visit  me  with  thy  salvation  ; 

5.  2'hat  I  may  see  the  good  of  thy  chosen,  that  I  may  rejoice  in 

the  joy  of  thy  nation,  and  glory  with  thy  heritage. 

^  The  first  and  two  last  verses  of  this  psalm  fonn  a  part  of  that  psalm 
which  David  delivered  into  the  hand  of  Asaph  and  his  brethren,  to  be 
sung  before  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  after  it  was  brought  from  the  house 
of  Obed-edom  to  mount  Zion.  See  1  Chron.  xvi.  34-36.  Hence  it 
has  been  ascribed  to  the  pen  of  David.  Many  of  the  ancients  thought, 
and  they  are  followed  by  Horsley  and  Mudge,  that  it  was  written  during 
the  captivity  ;  resting  their  opinion  chiefly  on  verse  47  ;  but  as  that  verse 
occurs  in  the  psalm  of  David  recorded  in  1  Chron.  xvi.,  at  the  35th 
verse,  this  argument  is  clearly  without  force. 

^  "  n*  I'p^Hi  Praise  the  Lord.  These  words  constitute  the  title,  and 
are  not  to  be  considered  as  making  any  part  of  the  text  of  the  psalm. 
The  Chaldee  retains  them  as  a  title  ;  the  LXX.  and  Vulgate  have  the 
Hebrew  words,  which  are  joined  into  one  ;  whUst  the  Syriac  has  in  their 
stead  a  sort  of  table  of  contents  of  the  psalm." — Phillips. 

'  "  31D"*D>  Poj-  he  is  good.  2)12)  is  employed  emphatically,  denoting 
that  God  is  good,  without  any  mixture  of  evil,  perfectly  good  in  himself, 
and  is,  as  it  were,  the  fountain  from  which  flows  every  good,  and  nothing 
but  good.  Hence  we  read  in  Matth.  xix.  17,  'There  is  none  good  but 
one,  that  is,  God.'  "—Ibid. 

•*  Bishop  Horsley,  following  the  Syriac,  which  reads  VDDkJ'D>  and  all 
the  other  versions,  which  read  >C']!i  translates  the  verse,  "  Blessed  are 
they  that  keep  his  judgments,  and  do  righteousness  at  all  seasons." 


PSALM  CVI.        THE  BOOK  0¥  PSALMS.  207 

1.  Praise  ye  Jehovah.  This  exhortation  supplies  the  want 
of  a  title ;  not  that  the  psalm  contains  nothing  else  than 
thanksgiving  and  praise  to  God,  but  that  the  people,  from 
the  experience  of  past  favours,  may  obtain  the  assurance  of 
reconciliation ;  and  thus  entertain  the  hope  that  God,  although 
at  present  offended,  would  soon  be  pacified  towards  them. 
In  celebrating  the  praises  of  God,  therefore,  he  orders  them 
to  call  to  mind  such  things  as  would  have  a  tendency  to 
assuage  their  grief  on  account  of  present  ills,  and  to  animate 
their  spirits,  and  prevent  them  from  sinking  into  despair.^ 

2.  PFho  shall  express.  This  verse  is  susceptible  of  two 
interpretations  ;  for  if  you  read  it  in  connection  with  the  one 
immediately  following,  the  sense  will  be,  that  all  men  are  not 
alike  equal  to  the  task  of  praising  God,  because  the  ungodly 
and  the  wicked  do  nothing  else  than  profane  his  holy  name 
with  their  unclean  lips  ;  as  it  is  said  in  the  fiftieth  psalm : 
''  But  unto  the  wicked  God  saith.  What  hast  thou  to  do  to 
declare  my  statutes,  or  that  thou  shouldest  take  my  covenant 
in  thy  mouth  ?"  And  hence  to  this  sentence  the  following 
clause  should  have  been  annexed,  in  the  form  of  a  reply, 
Blessed  are  they  that  keep  judgment.  I  am  of  opinion,  however, 
that  the  prophet  had  another  design,  namely,  that  there  is  no 
man  who  has  ever  endeavoured  to  concentrate  all  his  energies, 
both  physical  and  mental,  in  the  praising  of  God,  but  will 
find  himself  inadequate  for  so  lofty  a  subject,  the  transcendent 
grandeur  of  which  overpowers  all  our  senses.  Not  that  he 
exalts  the  power  of  God  designedly  to  deter  us  from  cele- 
brating its  praises,  but  rather  as  the  means  of  stirring  us  up 
to  do  so  to  the  utmost  of  our  power.  Is  it  any  reason  for 
ceasing  our  exertions,  that  with  whatever  alacrity  we  pursue 
our  course,  we  yet  come  far  short  of  perfection  ?  But  the 
thing  which  ought  to  inspire  us  with  the  greatest  encourage- 
ment is,  the  knowledge  that,  though  ability  may  fail  us,  the 
praises  which  from  the  heart  we  offer  to  God  are  pleasing 
to  him ;  only  let  us  beware  of  callousness  ;  for  it  would  cer- 
tainly be  very  absurd  for  those  who  cannot  attain  to  a  tithe 


'  It  is  the  province  of  faith  to  celebimte  tlic  divine  mercy  in  the  most 
tryinjr  circumstances. 


208  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

of  perfection,  to  make  that  the  occasion  of  their  not  reaching 
to  the  hundredth  part  of  it. 

3.  Blessed  are  they  that  keep  judgment.  I  make  a  distinction 
between  this  and  the  preceding  verse,  and  yet  so  as  to  preserve 
the  connection  between  them.  For  the  prophet,  having 
declared  the  magnitude  of  God's  power  to  be  such  that  no 
tongue  could  utter  all  its  praises,  now  says,  that  the  praises 
of  the  lip  merely  are  not  acceptable  to  God,  but  that  the 
concurrence  of  the  heart  is  indispensable,  nay,  that  even  the 
whole  of  our  deportment  must  be  in  unison  with  this  exercise. 
Now,  when  he  first  commands  to  keep  judgment,  and  then  to 
work  righteousness,  he  gives  us  a  short  description  of  genuine 
godliness.  I  have  no  doubt,  that  in  the  former  clause 
he  describes  the  sincere  afifection  of  the  heart,  and  that,  in 
the  latter,  he  refers  to  external  works.  For  we  know,  there 
is  nothing  but  the  mere  shadow  of  righteousness,  unless  a 
man  cordially  devote  himself  to  the  practice  of  honesty.  He 
requires  perseverance,  too,  that  no  one  may  imagine  that  he 
has  discharged  this  duty  properly,  excepting  he  whose  constant 
and  continued  aim  it  is  to  live  righteously  and  justly.  We 
behold  not  a  few  who  have  only  an  empty  profession  ;  others 
show  some  signs  of  virtue,  but  do  not  maintain  a  consistent 
course  of  conduct. 

4.  Reynemher  me.  By  these  words  the  prophet  declares 
it  to  be  his  chief  desire,  that  God  would  extend  to  him  that 
love  which  he  bore  towards  the  Church,  that  he  might  thus 
become  a  participator  of  all  the  blessings  which,  from  the 
very  first,  he  bestows  upon  his  chosen,  and  which  day  by  day 
he  continues  with  them.  Nor  does  he  desire  this  for  himself 
alone,  but  in  name  of  the  Church  Catholic,  oifers  up  a  prayer 
alike  for  all,  that,  by  his  example,  he  might  stimulate  the 
faithful  to  present  similar  petitions. 

Remember  me,  says  he,  loith  the  good  will  which  thou  hear  est  to- 
wards thy  people;  that  is  to  say,  grant  to  me  the  same  unmerited 
kindness  which  thou  art  pleased  to  confer  upon  thy  people, 
that  so  I  may  never  be  cut  off  from  thy  Church,  but  always  be 
included  among  the  number  of  thy  children  ;  for  the  phrase, 
goodwill  toioards  thy  people,  is  to  be  understood  passively  of  that 


PSALM  CVI.  THE  BOOK   OF  PSALMS.  209 

love  which  God  graciously  bears  to  his  elect.  It  is,  however, 
by  a  metonymy  employed  by  the  prophet  to  point  out  the 
marks  of  God's  love.  For  from  this  gracious  source  flows 
that  proof  which  he  actually  and  experimentally  gives  of  his 
grace.  But  the  prophet,  if  accounted  to  belong  to  the  num- 
ber of  the  people  of  God,  would  consider  this  to  be  the  sum- 
mit of  true  happiness  ;  because,  by  this  means,  he  would  feel 
that  God  was  reconciled  to  him,  (than  which  nothing  is  more 
desirable,)  and  thus,  too,  he  would  experience  that  he  was 
bountiful.  The  term,  remember,  relates  to  the  circumstance 
of  time,  as  we  shall  see  towards  the  end  of  the  psalm  that  it  was 
penned  when  the  people  were  in  a  state  so  sad  and  calamitous, 
that  the  faithful  might  entertain  some  secret  apprehension 
that  their  God  had  forgotten  them.  To  obviate  this  is  the 
tendency  of  the  next  clause,  visit  me  with  thy  salvation.  For 
God  is  said  to  visit  those  from  whom  he  had  apparently  with- 
drawn himself;  and  their  salvation  is  a  demonstration  of  his 
good-will  towards  them.  In  the  next  verse  he  repeats  the 
same  sentiment,  that  I  may  see  the  good  of  thy  chosen.  For  he 
desires  to  be  an  associate  and  participator  of  the  blessings 
which  are  constantly  realised  by  the  elect  of  God.  The 
verb  to  see,  is  very  plainly  taken  to  denote  the  enjoyment  of 
the  blessings,  as  "  to  see  the  kingdom  of  God,"  (John  iii.  3 ;) 
and  ",to  see  good  and  life,"  (1  Pet.  iii.  10,)  denote  the  corre- 
sponding blessings.  Those  who  expound  it,  that  I  may 
see  thee  do  good  to  the  chosen,  are  mistaken ;  because  the 
preceding  verse  upon  which  this  depends  will  not  bear  this 
interpretation,  and  the  exposition  which  I  have  given  is 
supported  by  the  words  which  follow,  that  I  may  rejoice  in  the 
joy  of  thy  nation,  and  glory  with  thy  heritage.  For  it  is  quite 
obvious  that  the  prophet  is  solicitous  to  become  a  sharer  in  all 
the  benefits  which  are  the  portion  of  the  chosen,  that,  satis- 
fied with  God  alone,  he  may,  under  his  providential  care,  live 
joyfully  and  happily.  Whatever  might  be  the  then  mournful 
state  of  the  Church,  the  prophet,  amid  all  such  tumult,  still 
clings  fast  by  this  principle,  that  there  is  nothing  better  than 
to  be  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  flock  and  people  of  God, 
who  will  always  prove  the  best  of  fathers  to  his  own,  and  the 
VOL.  IV.  O 


210  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

faithful  guardian  of  their  welfare.  All  that  he  asks  is,  that 
God  would  deal  with  him,  as  he  is  wont  to  deal  with  his 
Church  ;  and  declares  that  he  could  not  bear  the  thought  of 
being  severed  or  separated  from  the  common  lot  of  the 
Church.  These  words,  however,  imply  a  tacit  complaint 
that  at  that  time  God  was  withholding  his  loving-kindnesa 
from  his  afflicted  Church,  as  if  he  had  cast  her  oflP  altogether. 

6.  We  have  sinned  with  our  fathers,  we  have  acted  iniquitously, 

we  have  done  wickedly. 

7.  Our  fathers  understood  not  thy  %vonders  hi  Egypt  ;   they  re- 

membered not  the  multittide  of  thy  kindnesses;  they  rebelled 
at  the  sea,  even  the  Med  Sea. 

8.  Yet  he  saved  them  for  his  oion  name's  sake,  that  he  might 

make  his  power  to  be  known. 

9.  Also  he  rebuked  the  Bed  Sea,  and  dried  it  up  ;  and  made 

them  icalk  through  the  depths,  as  through  the  desert. 

10.  And  saved  them  from  the  hand  of  the  enemy,  and  delivered 

them  from  the  hand  of  the  wicked. 

11.  And  the  waters  covered  their  oppressors  :  there  was  not  one 

of  them  left. 

6.  JVe  have  sinned  with  our  fathers.  It  is  quite  plain  from 
these  words,  that  although  the  prophet  may  have  spoken  in 
the  person  of  one  man,  he  yet  dictates  a  form  of  prayer  for 
the  common  use  of  the  whole  Church,  seeing  that  he  now 
identifies  himself  with  the  whole  body.  And  from  this  to  the 
end  of  the  psalm,  he  gleans  from  ancient  histories  that  their 
fathers  had  always  been  of  a  malign  and  perverse  spirit,  of  cor- 
rupt practice,  rebellious,  ungrateful  and  perfidious  towards 
God ;  and  confesses  that  their  descendants  were  not  better ; 
and  having  made  this  confession,^  they  come  and  ask  the  re- 
mission of  their  sins.  And  as  we  are  unable  to  obtain  the 
pardon  of  our  sins  until  we  have  first  confessed  ourselves  to 
be  guilty  of  sin,  and  as  our  hardness  of  heart  shuts  out  the 
grace  of  God  from  us,  the  prophet,  therefore,  with  gi*eat  pro- 
priety, humbly  acknowledges  the  guilt  of  the  people  in  this 


1  ( 


'  lis  vienent  a  demauder  pardon  de  leui-s  pechez." — Fr. 


PSALM  CVI.         THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  211 

their  severe  and  sore  cliastisement,  and  that  God  might 
justly  inflict  upon  them  a  yet  harder  punishment.  On  another 
account  it  was  advantageous  for  the  Jevi's  to  have  their  gins 
set  before  them  ;  because,  if  God  punish  us  severely,  we  at 
once  suppose  that  his  promises  have  failed.  But  when,  on 
the  contrary,  we  are  reminded  that  we  are  receiving  the  re- 
ward due  to  us  for  our  transgressions,  then  if  we  thoroughly 
repent,  those  promises  in  which  God  appears  as  pacified 
towards  us  will  come  to  our  aid.  Besides,  by  the  three  ex- 
pressions which  he  employs  in  reference  to  their  transgres- 
sions, he  points  out  their  enormity,  that  (as  is  usually  the 
case)  their  hearts  might  not  be  slightly  affected,  but  deeply 
wounded  with  sorrow.  For  we  know  how  men  are  fettered 
by  their  vices,  and  how  ready  to  let  themselves  alone,  until 
compelled  to  examine  themselves  in  good  earnest ;  nay,  what 
is  more,  when  God  calls  them  to  judgment,  they  make  a  kind 
of  verbal  confession  of  their  iniquities,  while,  at  the  same 
time,  hypocrisy  blinds  their  minds.  When,  therefore,  the 
prophet  says,  that  the  people  acted  iniquitously  in  sinning,  and 
had  become  ungodly  and  wicked,  he  employs  no  useless  or 
unnecessary  accumulation  of  words.  Let  any  of  us  examine 
ourselves,  and  we  will  easily  find  that  we  have  equal  need  to 
be  constrained  to  make  an  ingenuous  confession  of  our  sins ; 
for  though  we  dare  not  say  that  we  have  no  sin,  yet  there  is 
not  one  of  us  but  is  disposed  to  find  a  cloak  and  subterfuge 
for  his  sin. 

In  a  very  similar  manner,  Daniel,  in  the  ninth  chapter  of 
his  prophecies,  acknowledges  the  guilt  of  his  own  iniquities 
and  those  of  the  people  ;  and  it  may  be  that  the  author  of 
this  psalm  followed  his  example.  From  both  let  us  learn, 
that  the  only  way  of  pleasing  God  is  to  institute  a  rigid  course 
of  self-examination.  Let  it  also  be  carefully  observed,  that 
the  holy  prophets,  who  never  departed  from  the  fear  and 
worship  of  God,  uniformly  confessed  their  own  guilt  in  com- 
mon with  the  people ;  and  this  they  did,  not  out  of  feigned 
humility,  but  because  they  were  aware  that  they  themselves 
were  tainted  with  manifold  corruptions,  for  when  iniquity 
abounds,  it  is  almost  impossible  for  even  the  best  of  men  to 
keep  themselves  from  being  infected  by  its  baneful  effects. 


212  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

Not  comparing  themselves  with  others,  but  sisting  themselves 
before  God's  tribunal,  they  at  once  perceive  the  impossibility 
of  making  their  escape. 

At  that  time  impiety  had  attained  to  such  a  degree  of 
enormity  among  the  Jews,  that  it  is  not  astonishing  if  even 
the  best  and  most  upright  men  were  carried  away,  as  if  by 
the  violence  of  a  tempest.  How  very  abominable,  then,  is 
the  pride  of  those  who  hardly  imagine  that  they  offend  in  the 
least  possible  way  ;  nay,  who  even,  like  certain  fanatics  of 
the  day,  conceive  that  they  have  attained  to  a  state  of  sinless 
perfection  !  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  Daniel, 
who  carefully  kept  himself  under  the  fear  of  God,  and  whom 
the  Holy  Spirit,  by  the  mouth  of  the  prophet  Ezekiel,  de- 
clares to  be  one  of  the  most  upright  of  men,  did  not  with 
feigned  lips  acknowledge  his  own  transgressions,  and  those 
of  the  people,  when  he  confessed  them,  under  a  deep  sense 
of  their  grievously  and  dreadfully  abhorrent  character  in  the 
eyes  of  God.  True,  indeed,  he  was  not  overwhelmed  in  the 
same  torrent  of  iniquity  with  others  ;  but  he  knew  that  he  had 
contracted  a  very  large  amount  of  guilt.  Besides,  the  pro- 
phet does  not  bring  forward  their  fathers  for  the  purpose  of 
palliating  his  own  delinquency,  (as  many  at  the  present  day 
set  at  nought  all  reproof,  shielding  themselves  with  this, 
namely,  that  they  have  been  so  taught  by  their  fathers,  and 
that,  therefore,  their  bad  education,  and  not  they,  is  at  fault,) 
but  rather  to  show  that  he  and  those  of  his  own  nation  were 
obnoxious  to  severe  punishment,  because  even  from  the  very 
first,  and  as  if  co-existent  with  their  early  infancy,  they  never 
ceased  to  provoke  the  displeasure  of  God  against  themselves 
more  and  more  by  their  fresh  transgressions.  It  is  in  this 
manner  that  he  involves  the  fathers  with  the  children  in 
many  of  the  grounds  of  condemnation.' 

7.  Our  fathers  understood  not  thy  wonders  in  Egypt.  Here  he 
relates  how  the  people  immediately,  from  the  very  commence- 
ment of  their  emancipation  from  bondage,  were  ungrateful  to 
God,  and  conducted  themselves  in  a  rebellious  manner.    Nor 

'  "  En  beaucoup  d'articles  de  condemnation." — Fr. 


PSALM  CVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  TSALMS. 


213 


does  he  confine  himself  to  the  history  of  one  period  only,  but 
the  whole  drift  of  his  narrative  is  to  point  out  that  the  people 
had  never  ceased  from  doing  wickedly,  although  God  met 
them  in  return  with  inconceivable  kindness  ;  which  is  a  proof 
of  the  invincible  and  desperate  perversity  of  this  nation. 
He  first  blames  the  folly  of  the  people  as  the  occasion  of  such 
ingratitude.  In  calling  it  folly,  he  does  not  intend  to  lessen 
the  oflTence,  (as  some  are  often  wont  to  do,)  but  to  expose  the 
vile  and  disgraceful  stupidity  of  the  people,  in  being  blind  in 
matters  so  plain ;  for  God's  works  were  such  that  even  the 
blind  might  behold  them.  Whence  could  such  gross  ignorance 
originate,  unless  that  Satan  had  so  maddened  them  that  they 
did  not  regard  the  miracles  of  God,  which  might  have  moved 
the  very  stones  ?  Now,  when  he  adds,  they  remembered  not^ 
he  expresses  more  forcibly  the  inexcusable  nature  of  their 
ignorance,  nay,  that  their  blindness  was  the  result  of  stupid 
indifference,  more  than  the  want  of  proper  instruction.  For 
the  cause  of  their  ignorance  was  their  overlooking  those  mat- 
ters which,  in  themselves,  were  abundantly  manifest.  He 
further  mentions  how  quickly  that  forgetfulness  came  upon 
them,  which  tended  to  increase  their  guilt.  For  it  was  mar- 
vellous that  not  even  the  very  sight  of  these  things  could 
arouse  their  spirits.  Hence  it  came  to  pass,  that  while  they 
had  scarcely  made  their  departure  from  Egypt,  and  were 
passing  through  the  sea,  they  proudly  rose  up  against  their 
deliverer.  Surely  not  one  year,  nor  even  a  century,  ought  to 
have  erased  from  their  minds  deeds  so  worthy  of  being  re- 
membered. What  madness,  then,  at  that  very  time  to  mur- 
mur against  God,  as  if  he  had  abandoned  them  to  be  slaugh- 
tered by  their  enemies  ?  That  arm  of  the  sea  through  which 
the  people  passed  is,  in  the  Hebrew,  called  the  Sea  of  Suph. 
Some  translate  it  the  Sea  of  Sedge,  and  will  have  the  word 
p1D>  suphj  to  signify  sea-weed.^     But  whatever  be  its  deriva- 

'  "  At  the  Red  Sea,  i.e.,  at  the  Arabian  Gulf;  literally,  at  the  Sea  of 
Suph,  which,  if  Suph  be  not  here  a  proper  name,  (as  it  seems  to  be  in 
Deut.  i.  1,  and,  with  a  slight  variation,  in  Num.  xxi.  14,)  means  the 
sea  of  weeds;  and  that  sea  is  stiU  called  by  a  similar  name  in  modem 
Egypt.  This,  its  designation  throughout  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, is  in  the  Syriac  version  and  the  Chaldee  paraphrase  likewise  ren- 
dered the  sea  of  weeds ;  which  name  may  have  been  deiived  from  the 


214  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

tion,  there  can  be  no  doubt  about  the  place.  It  is  very  likely 
that  the  name  was  given  to  it  because  it  abounded  with 
rushes. 

8.  And  saved  them.  The  prophet  here  teaches  what  any 
one  could  easily  learn  from  the  preceding  sentence,  that  the 
Israelites  were  saved,  not  on  account  of  their  deserving  to 
be  so,  but  because  God  had  a  regard  to  his  own  glory.  That 
obstacle  being  removed,  God  went  on  to  accomplish  that  de- 
liverance which  he  had  commenced,  in  order  that  his  holy 
name  might  not  become  a  reproach  among  the  heathen.  Be- 
sides, we  must  not  overlook  the  antithesis  between  the  name 
of  God  and  the  merits  of  men,  because  God,  out  of  a  regard 
to  his  own  glory,  can  find  in  us  no  cause  wherefore  he  should 
be  moved  to  save  us.  The  inestimable  kindness  of  God, 
which,  for  the  sake  of  a  people  so  perverse,  altered  the  usual 
order  of  nature,  is  more  illustriously  displayed  by  the  account 
w^hich  is  afterwards  given  of  the  means  by  which  they  were 

■weeds  growing  near  its  shore,  or  from  the  weeds,  or  coralline  productions, 
with  which,  according  to  Diodorus  Siculus  and  Kircher,  it  abounded ; 
and  which  were  seen  tlirough  its  ti-anslucent  waters.  Finati,  quoted  by 
Laborde,  speaks  of  the  transparency  of  its  waters,  and  the  corals  seen  at 
its  bottom." — Cressivell.  It  has  sometimes  been  asserted  that  this  sea 
received  the  appellation  of  Red  from  its  colour.  But  it  has  been  abun- 
dantly attested  by  those  who  have  seen  it,  that  it  is  no  more  red  than 
any  other  sea.  Niebuhr,  in  his  description  of  Ai-abia,  says,  "  The  Euro- 
peans are  accustomed  to  give  the  Arabian  Gulf  the  name  of  Red  Sea  ; 
nevertheless,  I  have  not  found  it  any  more  i-ed  than  the  Black  Sea  or  the 
White  Sea,  or  any  other  sea  in  the  world."  Artemidorus  in  Strabo  ex- 
pressly tells  us  that  "  it  looks  of  a  greeti  colour,  by  reason  of  the  abun- 
dance of  sea-weed  and  moss  that  grow  in  it ;"  which  Diodorus  Siculus  also 
asserts  of  a  particular  part  of  it.  It  appears  to  have  derived  its  name 
of  "  Red  Sea"  from  Edom,  which  signifies  red.  Although  throughout 
the  whole  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  it  is  called  Yam  Suph,  the 
weedy  sea,  yet  among  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  countries  adjoining 
it  was  called  Yam  Edom,  the  sea  of  Edom,  (1  Kings  ix.  26;  2  Chron. 
viii.  17,  18,)  the  land  of  Edom  having  extended  to  the  Ai-abian  Gulf; 
and  the  Edoraites  or  Idumeans  having  occupied  at  cue  time  a  part,  if  not 
the  whole,  of  Arabia  Petraea.  The  Greeks,  who  took  the  name  of  the 
sea  from  the  Phoenicians,  who  called  it  Yam  Edom,  instead  of  rendering  it 
the  sea  of  Edom,  or,  theldumean  Sea,  as  they  ought  to  have  done,  took  tlie 
word  Edom,  by  mistake,  for  an  appellative,  instead  of  a  proper  name,  and 
accordingly  rendered  it  s^vSqx  BuXxaau,  that  is,  the  Bed  Sea.  Ileuce 
the  LXX.  translate  Yayn  Suph,  by  the  Red  Sea ;  in  which  they  have 
been  followed  by  the  authors  of  our  English  version.  But  the  sea  of 
weeds  is  undoubtedly  the  best  translation  of  the  Hebrew  text. — See 
Pn'deaux'  Connections,  §c.,  vol.  i.  pp.  39,  40. 


PSALM  CVI.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  215 

preserved.  When  lie  says  that  the  sea  was  rebuked,  he  extols 
the  power  of  God,  at  whose  command  and  will  the  sea  was 
dried  up — the  waters  receded,  so  that  a  free  passage  was 
opened  up  between  the  opposite  heaps  of  waters.  With  the  de- 
sign of  magnifying  the  miracle,  he  employs  a  similitude, 
which,  in  all  likelihood,  was  drawn  from  Isaiah ;  for  in  the 
sixty-third  chapter  and  thirteenth  verse,  he  says,  "  Thou  hast 
made  thy  people  to  walk  through  the  deeps,  as  an  horse  in 
the  wilderness,  that  he  might  not  stumble."  When  the  peo- 
ple walked  through  the  sea  as  upon  a  dry  plain,  the  pro- 
phet informs  us  that  this  was  done  solely  by  the  astonishing 
power  of  God.  It  is  quite  possible,  that  in  the  desert  in 
which  the  people  wandered,  there  was  many  an  abyss,  the 
path  rugged,  and  many  a  hill  and  dale  and  ragged  rock.  But 
it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  prophet  extols  the  power  of 
God  in  the  passage  through  the  sea,  and  enhances  it  by  this 
consideration,  that  the  path  through  that  deep  sea  was  smooth. 
Besides,  he  gives  greater  strength  to  the  miracle  in  saying 
that  their  enemies  were  drowned;  because,  when  the  sea  af- 
forded a  free  passage  to  the  children  of  Israel,  and  covered 
and  engulfed  the  Egyptians,  so  that  not  one  of  them  escaped 
alive,  whence  proceeded  this  instantaneous  difference,  but 
from  this,  that  God  made  a  distinction  between  the  one  peo- 
ple and  the  other  ? 

12.  Then  they  believed  his  words  ;  they  sang  his  praises. 

13.  They  made  haste,  and  forgot  his  works ;  they  did  not  attend  to 

his  counsel; 

14.  And  lusted  greatly  in  the  desert,  and  tempted  God  in  the 

wilderness. 

15.  And  he  gave  them  their  desire  ;  but  sent  leanness  into  their  soul. 

12.  Tlien  they  believed  his  icords.  In  stating  that  they  be- 
lieved God's  word,  and  sang  his  praise,  the  prophet  does  not  say 
this  to  their  commendation,  but  rather  to  increase,  in  a  two- 
fold manner,  their  guilt ;  because,  being  convinced  by  such  in- 
dubitable testimony,  they  yet  instantly  resumed  their  wonted 
disposition  of  mind,  and  began  to  rebel  against  God,  as  if 
they  had  never  beheld  his  wonderful  works.     How  very  in- 


216  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVT. 

excusable  was  that  impiety  which  in  a  moment  could  forget 
the  remarkable  benefits  which  they  had  been  constrained  to 
admit !  Overpowered  by  the  grandeur  of  God's  works,  they 
were,  he  says,  in  spite  of  themselves,  compelled  to  believe  in 
God,  and  give  glory  to  him,  and  thus  the  criminality  of  their 
rebellion  was  increased  ;  because,  although  their  stubbornness 
was  overcome,  yet  they  immediately  relapsed  into  their  for- 
mer state  of  unbelief.  A  question,  however,  arises,  seeing  that 
true  faith  always  corresponds  with  the  nature  of  the  word, 
and  as  the  word  is  an  incorruptible  seed,  so  though  it  may 
happen  to  be  almost,  it  never  can  be  totally  destroyed.  But 
there  is  a  temporary  faith,  as  Mark  calls  it,  (iv.  17,)  which  is 
not  so  much  a  fruit  of  the  Spirit  of  regeneration,  as  of  a  cer- 
tain mutable  affection,  and  so  it  soon  passeth  away.  It  is  not 
a  voluntary  faith  which  is  here  extolled  by  the  prophet,  but 
rather  that  which  is  the  result  of  compulsion,  namely,  because 
men,  whether  they  will  or  not,  by  a  sense  which  they  have 
of  the  power  of  God,  are  constrained  to  show  some  reverence 
for  him.  This  passage  ought  to  be  well  considered,  that  men, 
when  once  they  have  yielded  submission  to  God,  may  not 
deceive  themselves,  but  may  know  that  the  touchstone  of 
faith  is  when  they  spontaneously  receive  the  word  of  God, 
and  constantly  continue  firm  in  their  obedience  to  it. 

In  order  to  point  out  the  inconstancy  of  the  people,  he  says, 
they  made  haste.  Some  explain  this  in  the  following  manner, 
namely,  that  after  they  had  set  out  on  their  journey,  they 
hastened  to  come  to  the  place  called  Marah.  This,  however,  is 
to  give  a  very  tame  representation  of  the  emphatic  style  in 
which  the  prophet  speaks,  when  severely  reprehending  their 
hasty  and  headlong  departure  from  the  way,  in  that  they  be- 
lieved only  for  a  very  short  time,  and  speedily  forgot  God's 
works ;  for  they  had  only  journeyed  three  days  from  their 
passage  through  the  sea  till  they  came  to  Marah,  and  yet 
they  began  to  murmur  against  God,  because  they  could  not 
procure  pleasant  waters.'     Meantime,  we  must  here  observe 

'  The  history  to  which  reference  is  here  made  is  recorded  in  Exod.  xv.  We 
read  in  the  22d  verse  of  that  chapter,  that  the  Israelites  "  went  out  into  the 
wilderness  of  Shur,  and  they  went  three  days  in  the  wilderness,  and 


PSALM  CVI.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  217 

what  we  have  seen  elsewhere,  that  the  alone  cause  why  men 
are  so  ungrateful  towards  God,  is  their  despising  of  his  bene- 
fits. Were  the  remembrance  of  these  to  take  fast  hold  of 
our  hearts,  it  would  serve  as  a  bridle  to  keep  us  in  his  fear. 
The  prophet  declares  what  their  transgression  was,  namely, 
that  they  did  not  suspend  their  desires  till  a  fitting  oppor- 
tunity occurred  for  granting  them.  The  insatiable  nature 
of  our  desires  is  astonishing,  in  that  scarcely  a  single  day  is 
allowed  to  God  to  gratify  them.  For  should  he  not  imme- 
diately satisfy  them,  we  at  once  become  impatient,  and  are  in 
danger  of  eventually  falling  into  despair.  This,  then,  was 
the  fault  of  the  people,  that  they  did  not  cast  all  their  cares 
upon  God,  did  not  calmly  call  upon  him,  nor  wait  patiently 
until  he  was  pleased  to  answer  their  requests,  but  rushed  for- 
ward with  reckless  precipitation,  as  if  they  would  dictate  to 
God  what  he  was  to  do.  And,  therefore,  to  heighten  the 
criminality  of  their  rash  course,  he  employs  the  term  counsel; 
because  men  will  neither  allow  God  to  be  possessed  of  wis- 
dom, nor  do  they  deem  it  proper  to  depend  upon  his  counsel, 
but  are  more  provident  than  becomes  them,  and  would  rather 
rule  God  than  allow  themselves  to  be  ruled  by  him  according 
to  his  pleasure.  That  we  may  be  preserved  from  provoking 
God,  let  us  ever  retain  this  principle,  That  it  is  our  duty  to 
let  him  provide  for  us  such  things  as  he  knows  will  be  for  our 
advantage.  And  verily,  faith  divesting  us  of  our  own 
wisdom,  enables  us  hopefully  and  quietly  to  wait  until  God 
accomplish  his  own  work ;  whereas,  on  the  contrary,  our 
carnal  desire  always  goes  before  the  counsel  of  God,  by  its 
too  great  haste. 

14.  And  they  lusted.     He  goes  on,  according  to  the  his- 

found  no  water,"  They  then  came  to  Marah,  where  there  was  abun- 
dance of  water ;  but  it  was  so  bitter  that  they  could  not  drink  of  it. 
Being  thus  disappointed  in  the  hopes  with  which  the  first  sight  of  these 
waters  inspired  them,  they  murmured  against  Moses,  and  said,  "  What 
shall  we  drink  ?  "  How  rapid  the  transition  from  gratitude  and  praise  to 
discontent  and  murmuring !  No  sooner  did  a  new  trouble  befall  that  peo- 
ple, than  they  forthwith  yielded  to  impatience,  forgat  the  long  series  of 
miracles  which  had  been  wrought  for  their  deliverance  from  Egypt,  and 
distrusting  God,  appeared  to  be  at  once  prepared  to  break  out  in  rebel- 
lion against  him  and  Moses  their  leader. 


218  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

tory,  to  mention  the  sin  which,  agreeably  to  the  duty  of 
his  office  as  a  teacher,  he  had  briefly  noticed.  Should  any 
one  inquire  in  what  way  they  did  not  attend  to  God's  coun- 
sel, he  answers,  because  they  had  indulged  in  the  gratifica- 
tion of  their  lusts;  for  the  only  way  of  acting  with  proper  mo- 
deration is,  when  God  rules  and  presides  over  our  aifections.  It 
is  therefore  the  more  necessary  to  bridle  that  strong  tendency 
to  fleshly  lusts  which  naturally  rage  within  us.  For  whoever 
allows  himself  to  desire  more  than  is  needful,  openly  sets  him- 
self in  direct  opposition  to  God,  inasmuch  as  all  fleshly  lusts 
are  directly  opposed  to  him. 

To  tempt  God  is  not  to  acquiesce  in  his  will,  but  to  desire 
more  than  he  is  willing  to  grant.  And  since  there  are  a 
variety  of  modes  of  tempting  God,  the  prophet  here  adverts 
to  one  mode  of  doing  so,  namely,  that  the  people  had  been 
so  presumptuous  as  to  limit  God  to  means  of  their  own 
devising ;  and  thus,  in  rejecting  the  way  which  they  ought 
to  have  followed,  they  ascribed  to  God  a  property  altogether 
novel,  as  much  as  to  say,  If  God  do  not  feed  us  with  flesh 
we  will  not  regard  him  as  God.  He  gave  them  the  food 
which  ought  to  have  satisfied  them.  And  though  God  is  not 
limited  by  any  means  whatsoever,  yet  it  is  his  will  that  our 
minds  be  rendered  subservient  to  the  menus  which  he  has 
appointed.  For  instance,  although  he  can  nourish  us  without 
bread,  nevertheless  it  is  his  will  that  our  life  be  sustained  by 
such  provision  ;  and  if  we  neglect  it,  and  wish  to  point  out 
to  him  another  way  of  nourishing  us,  we  tempt  his  power. 

15.  He  gave  them  their  desire.  There  is  a  fine  parono- 
masia in  the  word  jin?  razon,  for  if,  instead  of  T,  zain,  we  read 
^f ,  tsddhe,  the  word  would  signify  f/ood  pleasure.  The  prophet, 
therefore,  in  allusion  to  their  lusting,  by  a  word  which  is 
very  similar  to  good  pleasure  or  desire,  says  that  God  sent 
leanness  into  their  souls ;  meaning  by  that,  that  he  had  indeed 
gratified  the  inordinate  desires  of  the  people,  in  such  a  way, 
however,  as  that  those  who  had  loathed  the  manna,  now 
received  nothing  but  leanness.^      Thus  the  prophet  would 

1  The  reference  here  is  to  the  quails  which  God  granted  to  the  people 
in  answer  to  their  request  for  flesh,  but  which,  from  the  excess  in  which 


PSALM  CVI.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  219 

seem  to  charge  the  people  with  what  we  daily  observe  among 
those  who  live  luxuriously  and  are  fastidious,  especially  when 
their  stomach,  in  consequence  of  the  fluids  poured  into  it, 
being  vitiated,  has  no  relish  for  wholesome  food.  For  such 
persons  only  relish  that  food  Avhich  is  pernicious  ;  and,  there- 
fore, the  more  they  pamper  themselves  with  it,  so  much  the 
more  do  they  become  the  creatures  of  noxious  habits ;  and 
thus  in  a  very  short  time,  the  very  food  itself  makes  them 
pine  away.  The  prophet  seems,  therefore,  to  apply  to  the 
mind  what  he  says  about  the  unhealthy  state  of  the  body, 
and  to  compare  the  Jews  to  those  morbid  persons,  whose 
voraciousness,  instead  of  promoting  health,  injures  it,  because 
they  do  not  derive  any  nourishment  from  their  food.  The 
reason  is,  that  God  withheld  his  blessing  from  the  food  which 
they  had  so  immoderately  longed  for,  in  order  that  this  their 
punishment  for  their  transgression  might  humble  them.  But 
their  perversity  is  seen  to  be  very 'great,  in  that  even  this 
mode  of  punishing  them  did  not  overcome  their  stubborn 
hearts.  It  is  a  proverbial  saying,  that  fools  learn  wisdom 
from  the  experience  of  evil.  How  insane  and  incorrigible 
must  they  have  been,  whom  even  compulsion  itself  could  not 
reform  ! 


they  partook  of  them,  so  far  from  affording  nourishment,  proved  the 
cause  of  disease.  When  food  of  an  unwholesome  quality,  or  too  much 
of  that  which  is  wholesome,  is  eaten,  nature  with  much  violence  seeks 
to  throw  it  off  from  the  system  by  the  several  evacuations,  upon  which 
follows  a  sudden  and  almost  incredible  deiM'ivation  of  strength  and  flesh. 
The  Israelites,  when  God  gave  them  the  quails,  having  indulged  their 
appetite  to  an  immoderate  degree,  (Exod.  xvi.  8  ;  Ps.  Ixxviii.  25,  29,) 
the  effect  was  their  being  seized  with  a  sudden  and  wasting  sickness, 
which  is  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  what  is  called  cholera,  a  disease 
which  produces  a  rapid  prostration  of  strength  and  emaciation  of  the 
whole  frame.  This  opinion  seems  confirmed  from  what  is  stated  in 
Num.  xi.  20,  where  it  is  threatened  that  the  quails  should  "  come  out  at 
their  nostrils,"  probably  indicating  the  violent  vomitings  which  accom- 
pany that  malady.  It  is  indeed  said,  that  the  Lord  smote  the  people 
with  a  very  great  plague,  Num.  xi.  33.  But  God's  agency,  and  even 
his  miraculous  agency,  admits  of  the  subserviency  of  means.  French 
and  Skinner  read  the  clause,  "  But  sent  a  wasting  disease  among  them." 
"The  word  hT"),  to  attenuate,  emaciate"  says  Hammond,  "is  used  also 
for  destroying^  Zeph.  ii.  11,  when  God  threatens  that  he  will  emaciate, 
i.  e.,  destroy  all  the  gods.  And  then  pp  may  be  rendered,  more  gener- 
ally, destruction  or  plague,  and  so  R.  Tanchum  on  Zephaniah  I'euders  it 
destruction.^' 


220  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVT. 

16.  And  they  envied  Moses  in  the  camp,  and  Aaron  the  saint  of 

Jehovah. 

17.  The  earth  opened  and  swallowed  up  Dathan,  and  covered 

over  the  tent  of  Abiram. 

18.  And  a  fire  was  kindled  in  their  assembly,  and  the  fame  con.' 

sumed  the  wicJced. 

1 9.  They  made  a  calf  in  Horeb,  and  worshipped  before  the  molten 

image. 

20.  And  they  changed  their  glory  into  the  likeness  of  an  ox  that 

eateth  grass. 

21.  They  forgot  God  their  preserver,  who  had  done  great  things 

in  Egypt  ; 

22.  And  wondrous  works  in  the  land  of  Ham,  and  terrible  things 

at  the  Red  Sea. 

16.  And  they  envied.  He  refers  here  very  shortly  to 
another  transgression,  and  that,  too,  in  such  a  way  as  to 
furnish  both  to  himself  and  others  ample  grounds  for  deep 
consideration.  For,  as  the  people,  in  devising  from  time  to 
time  new  modes  of  sinning,  displayed  so  much  cunning  in 
their  attempts  to  provoke  God's  anger,  so  we  ought  the  more 
to  be  filled  with  fear  on  that  account.  Moreover,  when  he 
says  that  they  envied  Moses  and  Aaron,  his  meaning  is,  that, 
acting  under  the  influence  of  diabolic  pride,  they  had  risen 
up  against  God,  and  were  endeavouring  to  throw  off  the 
yoke  which  he  had  laid  upon  them  ;  according  as  Moses  also 
said,  *' What  am  I,  and  what  is  Aaron,  that  ye  murmur  against 
us  ?"  (Num.  xvi.  11.)  As  it  was  the  will  of  God  to  rule  the 
people  by  means  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  not  to  submit  to  their 
rule  was  virtually  to  set  themselves  obstinately  to  resist  the 
authority  of  God  himself.  There  is  therefore  great  import- 
ance attached  to  the  term,  envi/,  namely,  that  at  the  very 
time  when  God  was  treating  the  children  of  Israel  with  the 
utmost  kindness  and  care,  they  yet  were  discontented  with 
their  lot,  and  rebelled  against  him.  Could  such  madness 
serve  any  other  purpose  than  to  show,  that,  casting  off  all 
farther  dependence  upon  the  providence  of  God  for  their 
support,  they  aspire  to  rise  above  the  very  heavens  ?  In  this 
sense  Aaron  is  called  the  saint  of  Jehovah,^  in  order  that 

^  "  The  saint,  i.  e.,  a  man  consecrated  with  holy  oil  to  the  oflSce  of 


PSALM  CVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  221 

we  might  know  that  both  he  and  Moses  were  equally  iden- 
tified with  God  ;  for  under  the  person  of  the  one,  the  desig- 
nation is  applied  to  both,  and  in  this  way  the  prophet  shows 
that  they  had  been  Divinely  invested  with  that  authority 
which  they  were  exercising.  In  renouncing  their  authority, 
therefore,  and,  to  the  utmost  of  their  power,  dishonouring 
these  saints,  Dathan  and  Abiram  were  rebelling  not  against 
men,  but  against  God. 

1 7.  The  earth  opened.  The  heinousness  of  their  sin  may 
be  seen  in  the  magnitude  of  the  punishment  by  which  it  was 
visited.  But  the  design  of  the  prophet  was  to  accuse  and 
reprove  publicly  the  obstinacy  of  the  people,  who,  so  far  from 
being  bettered  by  their  corrections,  (although  the  vengeance 
of  God  was  so  terrible  as  almost  to  move  the  very  stones,) 
conducted  themselves  the  more  perversely.  That  was  surely 
an  awfully  ominous  event,  when  the  earth  sivallowed  up  alive 
Dathan  and  Abiram,  and  all  their  accomplices  ;  and  when 
fire  coming  down  from  heaven  consumed'  them,  according 
to  the  saying  of  Moses,  "If  any  thing  common  happen  to  these 
men,  then  believe  not  that  God  who  ruleth  in  heaven  rules 
over  you  and  me ;  but  if  this  new  and  extraordinary  thing 
happen,  namely,  that  the  earth  open  her  mouth  and  swallow 
them  up,  then  indeed  believe  that  I  am  sent  by  God,"  (Num. 
xvi.  29.)  When  the  Israelites  were  so  infatuated  as  to  rise 
in  rebellion  against  God,  then  did  the  terrible  nature  of  their 
distemper  appear  in  that  it  could  not  be  cured  by  the  stringent 
remedy  which  was  applied  to  it.  And  as  even  hypocrites  are 
afraid  when  they  feel  the  severity  of  God,  it  was  the  height 
of  folly  in  them  to  fret  and  quarrel  with  God  when  he  was 
visiting  their  iniquities  with  stripes.  Should  any  one  ask 
why  God  charges  the  faults  of  a  few  upon  the  whole  body  of 

the  priesthood,  and  wearing  on  his  mitre  a  plate  inscribed,  '  Holiness  to 
the  Lord,'  (Exod.  xxviii.  36.") — Cresswell.  "  ,-|in^  K*npi  l^oly  of  the 
Lord.  Aaron  is  thus  called,  because  he  was  separated  from  the  whole 
congregation  of  Israel,  and  appointed  to  direct  the  public  worship,  and 
to  oifer  the  sacrifices.  In  reference  to  this,  Moses  said  to  Korah,  '  The 
Lord  will  show  who  are  His,  and  who  is  holy,'  (Num.  xvi.  6.") — 
Phillips. 

'  The  fire  consumed  two  hundred  and  fifty,  and  fourteen  thousand  and 
seven  hundred  died  of  the  plague. — Num.  xvi.  36,  49. 


222  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

the  people  ?  the  answer  is  obvious ;  for  although  there  were 
only  two  individuals  who  were  the  principal  abettors  of  the 
conspiracy,  and  along  with  them  two  hundred  and  seventy 
seditious  persons,  yet  it  would  seem,  from  the  murmur- 
ings  and  cavillings  of  the  whole  congregation,  that  they 
also  were  affected  with  the  same  distemper.  The  punishment 
did  not  extend  beyond  the  captains^  and  ringleaders  of  this 
wicked  conspiracy,  it  being  the  design  of  God  to  mitigate  it, 
and  to  spare  the  people  at  large,  who  nevertheless  had  been 
most  desirous  of  innovation,  seeing  they  could  not  endure  the 
authority  of  Moses  and  Aaron. 

19.  They  made  a  calf?  Here  he  represents  their  rebellion 
as  exceedingly  base,  in  that  they  abandoned  the  true  worship 
of  God,  and  made  to  themselves  a  calf.  For  although  it  was 
their  intention  to  worship  God  in  this  manner,  yet  the  pro- 
phet reprehends  their  brutal  stupidity,  because  they  icoishipped 
before  the  molten  image^  and  represented  God  hy  the  figure  of 
an  ox  which  eateth  grass.*  From  this  the  prophet  infers,  that 
God  had  been  robbed  of  his  honour,  and  that  all  his  glory 
had  been  tarnished.  And  surely  it  is  so ;  for  although  the 
idolaters  feign  to  serve  God  with  great  zeal,  yet  when,  at 
the  same  time,  they  represent  to  themselves  a  God  visible, 
they  abandon  the  true  God,  and  impiously  make  for  them- 
selves an  idol.     But  he  reproaches  them  with  being  guilty  of 

1 "  Capitaines  et  portenseignes." — Fr. 

2  This  idol  seems  to  have  been  an  imitation  of  the  Egyptian  God  Apis, 
or  Serapis,  a  word  which  signifies  the  head  of  an  ox,  the  Egyptians  having 
exalted  that  animal  to  the  rank  of  a  god  whom  they  absm'diy  worshipped, 
and  to  whom  they  resorted  as  to  an  oracle.  "  The  modern  Jews  assert, 
that  then-  ancestors  were  in  that  matter  misled  by  certain  Egyptian  pro- 
selytes, who  had  accompanied  the  Israelites  when  they  were  delivered 
fi-om  their  bondage.  The  Psalmist,  it  may  be  remarked,  does  not  observe 
the  order  of  time  in  his  uan-ative,  the  making  of  the  calf  being  prior  to 
the  fate  of  Dathan  and  Abiram. — Comp.  Exod.  xxxil.  4,  6." — CressweU. 

3  "  More  properly,  '  the  overlaid  image  ;'  or,  more  literally  still,  '  the 
metalline  shell.'" — Horsley.  "  The  Hebrew  word,"  says  Mant,  "here, 
as  elsewhere,  rendered  by  our  translators  '  molten  image,'  strictly  and 
properly  means '  the  metalline  case'  or  '  covering  spread  over'  the  carved 
wood.  It  is  often  joined  with  the  '  carved '  wooden  '  image '  which  it 
covered.     Aaron's  calf  was  thus  made  of  Avood,  and  overlaid  with  gold." 

4  "  That  eateth  hay — the  Egyptians,  when  they  consulted  Apia,  pre- 
sented a  bottle  of  hay  or  of  grass,  and  if  the  ox  received  it,  they  expected 
good  success." — CressweU. 


PSALM  CVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  223 

still  greater  impiety,  when  he  says,  after  the  likeness  of  an  ox 
that  eateth  grass ;  and  contrasts  with  it  their  honour  or  glory. 
For  seeing  that  God  had  clothed  them  with  his  own  glory, 
what  madness  was  it  to  substitute  in  place  of  him  not  only 
an  ox,  but  the  inanimate  form  of  an  ox,  as  if  there  were  any 
resemblance  between  God  who  createth  all  kinds  of  food, 
and  that  stupid  animal  Avhich  feeds  upon  grass  ? 

It  is  necessary,  however,  to  observe  the  design  of  the  pro- 
phet, which  is  to  point  out  the  blindness  of  men  as  more  base 
and  abominable,  because  not  contenting  themselves  with  any 
common  form  of  superstition,  but  casting  off  all  shame,  they 
give  themselves  up  to  the  most  shocking  forms  of  worshipping 
God.  Had  the  people  formed  for  themselves  a  likeness  of 
God  under  the  likeness  of  a  man,  even  that  would  have  been 
impiously  robbing  God  of  his  due ;  how  much  more  shame- 
ful was  their  conduct  when  they  assimilated  God  to  an  ox  ? 
When  men  preserve  their  life  by  eating  and  drinking,  they 
acknowledge  how  frail  they  are,  because  they  derive*  from 
dead  creatures  the  means  of  its  continuation.  How  much 
greater  is  the  dishonour  done  to  God  when  he  is  compared  to 
the  brutal  tribes  ?  Moreover,  the  comparison  referred  to  in- 
creases the  enormity  of  their  guilt.  For  what  credit  was  it 
for  a  holy  people  to  worship  the  inanimate  likeness  of  an  ox 
instead  of  the  true  God  ?  But  God  had  condescended  to 
spread  out  the  overshadowing  wings  of  his  glory  upon  the 
children  of  Abraham,  that  he  might  put  on  them  the  highest 
honour.  Therefore,  in  denuding  themselves  of  this  honour, 
they  had  exposed  their  own  baseness  to  the  derision  of  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  And  hence  Moses  employs  the 
phrase  of  nakedness,  when  he  is  showing  that  crime  of  idol- 
atry :  "  And  when  Moses  saw  that  the  people  were  naked, 
(for  Aaron  had  made  them  naked  unto  their  shame  among 
their  enemies,")  Exod.  xxxii.  25.  Should  any  one  be  dis- 
posed to  say  that  the  ark  of  the  covenant  was  a  representa- 
tion of  God,  my  answer  is.  That  that  symbol  was  given  to 
the  children  of  Israel,  not  to  engross  the  whole  of  their  at- 
tention, but  only  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  and  directing 
them  in  the  spiritual  worship  of  God. 

^  "  Empruntcnt  des  creatures  mortes  la  contiauatiou  d'icelle." — Fr. 


224  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

21.  They  forgot  God.  The  prophet  again  repeats  that  the 
people  had  sinned  not  simply  through  ignorance,  but  also 
wilfully,  inasmuch  as  God  had  already  given  a  very  palpable 
manifestation  of  his  power  and  glory.  And  as  he  makes 
himself  known  in  the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  of  the 
earth,  the  blindness  of  men  is  totally  inexcusable.  But  far 
more  aggravating  is  the  sin  of  the  children  of  Israel,  who, 
after  God  had  made  himself  known  to  them,  in  the  most  con- 
descending manner,  cast  him  off  altogether,  and  gave  themselves 
up  to  the  practice  of  brutish  idolatry.  And  God  having  from 
heaven  put  forth  his  Almighty  power  for  their  salvation,  there 
must  surely  be  no  little  importance  attached  to  such  displays 
of  his  power  as  proclaim  the  praise  and  honour  of  his  great 
name.  Had  he  merely  given  an  ordinary  token  of  his  power, 
even  that  ought  to  have  attracted  so  much  consideration  as 
should  have  kept  the  people  in  the  fear  and  worship  of  God. 
Now,  that  these  miracles  were  so  veiy  notable,  or  rather  ter- 
rible and  rare,  the  people  acted  a  very  base  part  to  shut 
their  eyes  upon  them,  and  give  themselves  over  to  idolatry. 
For  as  the  darkness  is  dispelled  by  the  beamy  lustre  of  the 
sun,  so  all  inventions  and  perverse  errors  should  vanish  before 
such  knowledge  of  God. 

23.  And  he  said  that  he  would  destroy  them,  unless  that  Moses  his 

chosen  had  stood  in  the  breach  before  his  face,  to  turn  away 
his  wrath,  that  he  might  not  destroy  them. 

24.  And  they  despised  the  pleasant  land  ;  they  did  not  believe  his 

word ; 

25.  And  they  murmured  in  their  tents,  and  did  not  listen  to  the 

voice  of  Jehovah. 

26.  And  he  lifted  up  his  hand  against  them,  to  destroy  them  in 

the  desert  : 

27.  And  to  destroy  their  seed  among  the  heathen,  and  to  scatter 

them  throughout  the  lands. 

1  Some  interpreters,  as  Mudge  and  Horsley,  have  felt  great  diflSculty 
in  interpreting  this  verse.  "  Nothing,"  says  the  latter  critic,  "  was 
said  about  overthrowing  the  seed,  at  the  time  when  the  adults,  which 
came  out  of  Egypt,  were  sentenced  to  perish  in  the  wilderness.  On  the 
contrary,  it  was  promised  that  their  little  ones,  i.e.,  those  who  were 
under  the  age  of  twenty  years  at  the  time  of  the  general  muster,  should 
be  settled  in  the  land  of  Canaan. — See  Numbers  xiv."  He  farther  adds, 


PSALM  CVI.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  225 

23.  A7id  he  said.  The  prophet  informs  us,  by  these  words, 
that  the  people  had  a  feeling  sense  of  their  remarkable  de- 
liverance from  impending  destruction,  by  means  of  prayer 
alone,  which,  for  a  season,  restrained  God's  vengeance  from 
bursting  forth  against  them.  In  a  very  short  time,however,  they 
return  to  their  wonted  disposition  of  mind,  a  striking  proof 
of  the  awful  perversity  of  their  hearts.  To  represent  how 
highly  God  was  oiFended,  the  prophet  says  that  he  had  pur- 
posed to  destroy  the  transgressors :  not  that  God  is  subject  to 
human  passions,  to  be  very  angry  for  a  little,  and  then  imme- 
diately afterwards,  on  being  appeased,  changes  his  purpose ; 
for  God,  in  his  secret  counsel,  had  resolved  upon  their  for- 
giveness, even  as  he  actually  did  pardon  them.  But  the  pro- 
phet makes  mention  of  another  purpose,  by  which  God  de- 
signed to  strike  the  people  with  terror,  that  coming  to  know 
and  acknowledge  the  greatness  of  their  sin,  they  might  be 
humbled  on  account  of  it.  This  is  that  repentance  so  fre- 
quently referred  to  in  the  Scriptures.  Not  that  God  is  mu- 
table in  himself;  but  he  speaks  after  the  manner  of  men,  that 
we  may  be  affected  with  a  more  feeling  sense  of  his  wrath : 
like  a  king  who  had  resolved  to  pardon  an  offender,  yet  sisted 
him  befoi'e  his  judgment-seat,  the  more  effectually  to  impress 
him  with  the  magnitude  of  the  kindness  done  to  him.  God, 
therefore,  while  he  keeps  to  himself  his  secret  purpose,  de- 
clared openly  to  the  people  that  they  had  committed  a  tres- 
pass which  deserved  to  be  punished  with  eternal  death.  Next 
he  says  that  Moses  stood  in  the  breach,  meaning  that  he  had 
made  intercession  with  God,  lest  his  awful  vengeance  might 

that  "  nothing  was  said  at  the  time  alluded  to  about  scattering  the  seed, 
which  should  be  settled  in  Canaan,  in  some  future  period,  thi'ough  the 
lands."  And  he  concludes  his  note  on  the  verse  by  observing,  that,  upon 
the  whole,  he  could  not  explain  it  to  his  own  satisfaction.  But  there 
seems  in  the  passage  to  be  a  reference  to  those  prophetical  denunciations 
afterwards  uttered,  by  which  God  threatened  that  he  would  punish 
the  sins  of  the  Israelites,  not  only  in  their  own  persons,  but  also  in 
their  posterity ; — denunciations  which  have  been  fulfilled  in  the  various 
dispersions  of  that  people,  and  which  are  fulfilling  at  the  present  day. — 
Lev.  xxvi.  33  ;  Dent,  xxviii.  64.  "It  is  obvious,"  says  Dr  Morison, 
"  that  those  interpreters  are  mistaken  who  refer  the  allusions  of  the  27th 
verse  to  the  same  history  as  those  of  the  26th.  The  people  overthroAvn 
in  the  wilderness  were  to  be  destroyed  by  pestilence  ;  but  the  overthrow 
threatened  in  the  27th  verse  was  by  banishment  and  captivity." 

VOL.  IV.  P 


226  COMMENTARY  UPON  TSALM  CVI. 

break  forth  among  the  people.  There  is  here  an  alhision  to 
the  manner  in  which  cities  are  stormed ;  for  if  a  breach  is 
made  in  the  wall  by  any  of  the  various  engines  which  are 
employed  in  war,  brave  soldiers  will  instantly  throw  them- 
selves into  the  breach  to  defend  it.^  Hence  Ezekiel  re- 
proaches the  false  prophets,  who,  unlike  Moses,  deceiving  the 
people  by  their  flatteries,  making,  as  it  were,  a  mud-wall, 
do  not  place  themselves  in  the  breach  in  the  day  of  battle. 
"  Ye  have  not  gone  up  into  the  gaps,  neither  made  up  the 
hedge  for  the  house  of  Israel,  to  stand  in  the  battle  in  the 
day  of  the  Lord,"  Ezek.  xiii.  5.  Some  expositors  are  of 
opinion  that  the  prophet  refers  to  the  separation  which  the 
people  had  made  among  themselves  in  violating  the  covenant 
of  God,  and  the  sacred  relation  in  which  they  stood  to  each 
other;  but  the  meaning  is  the  same.  For  in  that  breach 
which  gave  rise  to  this  metaphor  or  similitude,  God,  in  de- 
fending his  people  so  ftiithfully,  was  to  them  in  place  of  a 
wall  or  bulwark.  Having  provoked  him  to  anger  ancAV, 
he  was  about  to  rush  vipon  them  for  their  destruction,  had 
not  Moses  interposed  as  their  intercessor. 

24.  And  they  despised.  It  was  an  evident  demonstra- 
tion of  the  unconquerable  wickedness  of  the  Jews,  that, 
after  they  had  been  in  the  jaws  of  destruction,  and  while 
they  had  scarcely  escaped  from  danger  so  great  and  so  immi- 
nent, they  rose  up  in  rebellion  against  God.  What  was  the 
cause  of  this  rebellion  ?     The  des^^ising  of  the  Holy  Land, 

1  The  sins  of  the  people  had  opened  a  breach  or  gap^  for  God  as  an 
enemy  to  enter  and  destroy  them.  But,  like  soldiers  who  stand  in  the 
breach  that  has  been  made  in  the  walls  of  a  beleaguered  city  to  oppose  the 
irruption  of  the  enemy,  Moses,  by  his  earnest  prayer,  stopped  this  breach, 
Exod.  xxxii.  11-14.  "Moses  is  here  mentioned  in  the  character  of  a 
mediator,  under  the  figure  of  one  standing  in  the  breach  of  the  wall  of 
a  city  made  by  besiegers,  to  oppose  any  farther  hostile  aggressions.  The 
figure  of  a  breach  is  frequently  employed  in  Scripture  to  denote  some  de- 
struction by  God.  Thus  in  Judges  xxi.  15,  God  made  a  breach,  |>-|3,  in 
the  tribes  of  Israel,  i.e.,  He  destroyed  one  of  the  tribes,  viz.,  that  of 
Benjamin  :  see  also  2  Sam.  vi.  8  ;  Ezek.  xxii.  30.  Hence  in  this  passage 
we  understand  that  God  would  have  destroyed  the  Israelites,  had  not 
Moses  stood  in  the  breach,  i.e.,  iuterceded  by  his  prayers,  just  at  the 
time  when  the  divine  judgments  were  about  to  be  executed.  The  Chal- 
dee  has  paraphrased  it  thus,  //  Moses  had  not  stood  before  Him  and  pre- 
vailed in  prayer.,  i.e.,  arrested  the  destruction." — Phillips. 


PSALM  CVI.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  227 

which  of  all  things  ought  to  have  been  most  desired  by  them. 
The  country  of  Canaan,  which  had  been  destined  to  them, 
as  the  place  where  they  were  to  be  brought  up  under  God's 
paternal  care,  and  as  a  people  separated  from  heathen  nations 
were  to  worship  him  only,  and  which,  also,  was  more  espe- 
cially to  them  a  pledge  of  the  heavenly  inheritance, — this  coun- 
try here,  and  in  several  other  passages,  is  very  properly 
called  the  pleasant  land.  Was  it  not,  then,  the  basest  ingra- 
titude to  despise  the  holy  habitation  of  God's  chosen  people  ? 
To  the  cause  of  this  scorn  the  projAet  refers,  when  he  says, 
they  did  not  believe  God^s  word.  For  had  they  laid  hold  vipon 
God's  promise  with  that  faith  which  it  was  incumbent  upon 
them  to  do,  they  Avould  have  been  inflamed  with  such  a  strong 
desire  for  that  land,  that  they  would  have  surmounted  all  ob- 
stacles which  might  occur  in  their  way  to  it.  Meanwhile, 
not  believing  his  Avord,  they  not  only  refuse  the  heritage 
which  was  offered  to  them,  but  excite  a  rebellion  in  the  camp, 
as  if  they  Avould  rise  up  in  arms  against  God. 

26.  And  he  lifted  up.  He  describes  another  example 
of  the  vengeance  of  God,  the  recollection  of  which  ought  to 
have  been  deeply  seated  in  their  hearts,  so  that  cherishing 
a  constant  fear  of  him,  they  might  watch  over  themselves 
with  the  utmost  solicitude.  No  good  having  ensued  from 
all  this,  it  is  obvious  that  the  madness  of  that  people  was  in- 
curable. At  that  time  God  did  restrain  his  anger,  in  that 
he  did  not  disijerse  their  offspring  throughout  various  parts  of 
the  earth ;  but  his  threatening  of  itself  ought  to  have  suf- 
ficed for  the  subduing  of  their  pride,  had  they  not  been  incor- 
rigible. To  lift  up  the  hand  is  in  this  passage  susceptible  of 
two  meanings.  In  Scripture  God  is  frequently  said  to  lift  up 
his  hand  to  inflict  punishment.  But  as  it  is  generally  ad- 
mitted that  the  prophet  is  here  speaking  of  swearing,^  with 
this  opinion  I  most  readily  coincide.  The  practice  of  lifting 
up  the  hand,  as  if  they  woidd  have  called  God  down  from 

'  The  passage  refers  to  the  oath  which  God  swore  against  that  people 
recorded  in  Num.  xiv.  21-23.  To  the  same  oath  there  is  an  allusion  in 
Ps.  xcv.  11.  The  Chaldee  paraphrast  has,  "He  lifted  np  his  hand 
with  an  oath." 


228  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

heaven,  was  a  solemn  usual  rite  among  them,  accompanying 
an  oath ;  and  is  therefore  improperly  applied  to  God,  whose 
sublimity  rises  above  all  things,  and  who,  as  the  apostle  says, 
cannot  swear  by  a  greater  than  himself,  Heb.  vi.  13.  In  em- 
ploying it,  therefore,  it  must  be  understood  that  he  borrows 
it  from  the  common  customs  which  prevail  among  men.  Had 
not  the  Holy  Land  been  preserved  to  the  people  by  the 
prayers  of  Moses,  awful  indeed  would  their  dispersion  have 
been. 

28.  And  they  joined  themselves  to  Baal-peor,  and  ate  the  sacri- 

fices of  the  dead. 

29.  And  they  provoked  God  to  anger  by  their  works  :'  and  the 

plague  hroke  out  among  them. 

30.  And  Phinehas  stood  up,  and  executed  justice  :  and  the  plague 

yias  stopped. 

31.  And  that  deed  was  imputed  to  him  for  righteousness  from 

generation  to  generation  for  ever. 

28.  And  they  joined  themselves  to  Baal-peor.  The  prophet  tells 
us  that  the  Jews,  after  they  had  been  threatened  with  very 
awful  punishment,  very  soon  fell  into  a  new  species  of  apostacy. 
Some  think,  that  they  are  indirectly  accused  of  falling  away 
to  the  superstitions  of  the  Midianites,  in  consequence  of  hav- 
ing been  imposed  upon  by  female  intrigue.  This,  it  is  well 
known,  was  the  design  of  Balaam,  as  soon  as  he  knew  that  he 
was  forbidden  by  God  to  curse  the  people.  His  counsel  to 
king  Balak  was  to  set  the  daughters  of  Moab  before  the 
people,  to  entice  them  by  their  allurements  to  the  practice  of 
idolatry.  Num.  xxxi.  16,  "  Behold,  these  women  caused  the 
children  of  Israel,  through  the  counsel  of  Balaam,  to  commit 
trespass  against  the  Lord  in  the  matter  of  Peor."  And  as 
the  idolatry  here  mentioned  originated  from  carnal  intrigues, 
some  expositors  are  of  opinion,  that  on  this  account  the  pro- 
phet charges  the  people  with  the  commission  of  a  twofold 
trespass,  in  their  not  only  being  inveigled  by  the  Midianitish 
women,  but  also  in  binding  themselves  by  another  bond  to 


1  In  our  English  Bible  it  is  "  their  inventions."      "  Eather,"  says 
Horsley,  '  then- frolics.'" 


PSALM  CVI.        THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  229 

Baal-peor,  Num.  xxv.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  prophet  ex- 
claims against  the  perfidy  of  his  own  nation,  because  in  for- 
saking the  true  worship  of  God,  they  had  broken  that  holy 
union  by  which  they  had  been  betrothed  to  him.  For  we 
know,  that  as  God  adopts  the  Church  as  his  spouse,  when 
she  gives  herself  up  to  idolatry,  she  no  less  shamefully  violates 
her  fidelity,  than  when  a  wife  leaves  her  husband,  and  be- 
comes an  adulteress.  It  is  well  known,  that  Baal-peor  was 
the  idol  of  the  Midianites  ;  but  it  is  not  so  well  known  how 
he  received  this  appellation.  The  word  7^^,  Baal,  has  a  sig- 
nification^ equivalent  to  lord,  master,  or  patron.  And  smce 
^lySj  paar,  signifies  to  open,  some  render  it  the  God  o^  opening, 
and  assign  as  a  reason,  which,  however,  I  dare  not  affirm,  their 
shamefully  exposing  themselves  in  his  presence.  Perhaps  it 
is  the  name  of  some  place,  for  Ave  know  that  the  heathens 
often  gave  to  their  idols  the  names  of  the  countries  where 
they   were  worshipped.^     We  now  perceive  the  prophet's 

1  "Signifie  autant  comme  Maistre  o^^  Patron." — Fr. 

^  Baal  was  a  very  common  name  of  the  principal  male  god  of  the  na- 
tions of  the  East,  as  Ashtaroth  was  a  common  one  for  their  chief  female 
deity.  The  Moabites,  Phoenicians,  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  and  often  the 
Hebrews,  worshipped  this  idol.  Among  the  Babylonians,  he  was  called 
Bel  or  Belus.  The  sun  only  might  at  first  be  worshipped  under  that 
name,  as  we  know  that  under  it  the  Phoenicians  adored  that  luminary. 
But  at  length  it  came  to  be  applied  to  many  other  idols,  according  to 
these  words  of  the  Apostle,  "  There  be  gods  many,  and  baalims,  or  lords 
many,"  1  Cor.  viii.  5.  As  the  idol  Jupiter  among  the  Romans  had  dif- 
ferent names  and  different  rites  of  worship,  occasioned  sometimes  from 
the  different  benefits  which  he  was  thought  to  bestow  upon  men,  as  Ju- 
piter Pluvius,  because  he  gave  i"ain,  Jupiter  Lucetius,  because  he  gave 
light,  Jupiter  Altitonans,  from  thundering ;  and  sometimes  from  different 
places — as  Jupiter  Olympius,  from  the  hill  Olympus,  Jupiter  Capitolinus, 
from  the  Capitol  hill,  Jupiter  Latialis,  from  that  part  of  Italy  which  is 
called  Latium :  so  Baal  had  his  distinctive  titles,  and  different  rites  of 
worship,  occasioned  in  the  same  manner.  He  sometimes  received  his 
name  from  the  benefits  lie  was  supposed  to  confer,  as  Baal-tsephon, 
(Exod.  xiv.  1,)  the  latter  term  denoting  a  ivatcher,  and  Baal-zebub, 
(2  Kings  i.  2,)  which  signifies  the  lord  of  the  flies.  He  was  worshipped 
under  this  last  name  by  the  Cyreniaus,  but  principally  by  Ela-onites,  be~ 
cause,  whenever  they  sacrificed  to  him,  they  believed  that  the  swarms 
of  flies,  Avhich  at  that  tune  molested  the  country,  would  die.  At  other 
times  he  received  a  distinctive  appellation  from  the  places  where  he 
was  worshipped,  as  Baal-peor,  from  the  hill  Peor,  mentioned  in  Num. 
xxiil.  28  ;  and  his  temple,  whither  his  votaries  resorted,  standing  on  the 
same  hill,  was  called  Beth-peor,  Deut.  iii.  29.  Possibly,  however,  the 
mountain  might  have  taken  its  name  from  the  god  that  was  there  wor- 
shipped. The  idol  named  Chemosh,  in  Jer.  xlviii.  7,  is  thought  to  be  the 
same  as  Baal-peor.    "  I  take  it,"  says  Goodwin,   "  to  be  applied  to 


230  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

meanings  That  the  Jews  had  wickedly  revolted  from  God,  and 
defiled  themselves  in  joining  themselves  to  Baal-peor.  In 
saying  that  they  ate  the  sacrifices  of  the  dead^  he  points  out 
the  greater  baseness  of  their  offence.  By  the  sacrifices  of 
idols,  he  means  that  they  ate  things  that  were  offered  to  idols, 
as  they  had  been  wont  to  partake  of  those  sacrifices  which 
bound  them  to  the  true  God,  the  inexhaustible  fountain  of 
life.  Hence  their  conduct  was  the  more  detestable,  when 
they  wilfully  gave  themselves  over  to  death  by  perpetrating 
such  a  heinous  crime.  And  we  know,  that  banqueting  was 
to  some  extent  connected  with  their  worship.  The  result  of 
this  was,  that,  renouncing  the  true  God,  they  joined  them- 
selves in  marriage  with  the  dead;  and  thus  the  prophet 
charges  them  with  acting  a  very  disgraceful  part,  in  not  only 
bowing  the  knee  to  Baal,  and  offering  sacrifices  to  him,  but 
also  in  feasting  upon  these  sacrifices. 

29.  And  they  provoked  God  to  anger.  The  prophet  once  more 
informs  us,  that  they  had  been  put  upon  their  guard  by  another 
plague,  in  order  that  it  might  appear  that  God  had  always  a 
strict  regard  for  his  own  glory,  in  chastising  the  people  ;  but 
as  they  were  not  bettered  by  these  plagues,  these  chastise- 
ments were  fruitless.  Having  formerly  stated,  that  God's 
wrath  had  been  aj)peased  by  the  prayers  of  Moses,  he  now 
says,  that  the  plague  had  been  arrested  or  ceased  by  means 
of  the  kind  interposition  of  Phinehas.  Some  render  the  word 
/l^ypili^l^  to  pray ;  but  the  other  rendering,  to  execute  justice^ 
is  more  in  accordance  with  the  context ;  namely,  that  by  his 
zeal  in  executing  justice  upon  the  profligates,  he  turned  away 
God's  vengeance  from  the  Israelites.  He  stood  up  therefore, 
that  is,  he  rose  up  or  interposed,  when  all  others  maintained 


Baal-peor,  by  way  of  contempt,  as  if  one  should  say  their  blind  god,  ac- 
cording to  that  in  the  psalm,  '  They  have  eyes,  and  see  not  ;'  for  the 
first  letter,  caph,  signifies  as  it  tvere,  or  like,  and  t^i^o,  musch,  to  grope,  or 
feel  about  in  manner  of  blind  men.''''  Moses  and  Aaron,  p.  170.  This  idol 
was  also  called  Baal-bereth,  (Judges  viii.  33,  and  ix.  4,)  from  his  wor- 
shippers binding  themselves  to  him  by  covenant. 

1  "The  dead"  appears  to  be  a  term  of  contempt  applied  to  idols. 
They  are  so  called  in  opposition  to  the  true  and  living  God.  There  may 
also  be  an  allusion  to  the  fact,  that  many  of  the  heathen  idols  were  men 
who  had  been  deified  after  their  death. 


rSALM  CVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  231 

a  careless  indifference.  As  the  Jews  were  sensible  that  it  was 
by  the  kind  intervention  of  one  man  that  the  plague  was  now 
healed,  their  obstinacy  was  the  less  excusable  in  not  even  then 
ceasing  to  sin.  We  must  not  forget  that  all  these  things  are 
addressed  to  us.  For  when  God  from  time  to  time  chastises 
us,  and  calls  upon  us  to  repent  by  setting  before  us  the  ex- 
ample of  others,  how  few  profit  by  his  corrections  !  More- 
over, it  deserves  to  be  noticed,  that  the  plague  ceased  at  the 
very  time  when  Phinehas  executed  justice.  From  this  we 
may  learn,  that  the  most  effectual  way  to  quench  the  fire  of 
God's  anger,  is  when  the  sinner  willingly  sits  in  judgment 
upon  himself  for  the  punishment  of  his  own  transgressions ; 
as  Paul  says,  1  Cor.  xi.  31,  "  If  we  would  judge  ourselves,  verily 
we  would  not  be  judged  of  the  Lord."  And  surely  God  con- 
fers no  small  honour  upon  us,  in  placing  the  punishment  of 
our  sins  within  our  reach.  At  the  same  time,  it  must  be  ob- 
served, that  on  that  occasion  the  plague  ceased  in  consequence 
of  the  punishment  of  a  single  person,  because  the  people  then 
shrunk  from  the  abominable  wickedness  to  which  they  had 
been  addicted. 

31.  Aiid  that  deed  teas  imputed.  The  prophet,  in  thus 
praising  one  individual,  heaps  reproach  upon  the  whole  body 
of  the  people.  For  we  infer  from  this  token  of  approbation 
with  which  the  Holy  Spirit  condescended  to  stamp  the  ex- 
cellent action  of  Phinehas,  how  very  base  their  conduct  must 
have  been.  Neither  was  this  honour  reserved  for  him  alone, 
but  his  posterity  were  to  enjoy  it  throughout  their  succeeding 
generations.  In  order,  therefore,  to  cast  the  greater  reproach 
upon  the  people,  Phinehas  alone  is  contrasted  with  them. 
Some  may  be  disposed  to  inquire,  how  the  zeal  of  a  single 
individual,  overstepping  the  boundaries^  of  his  calling,  taking 
a  sword  and  executing  justice,  could  be  approved  of  God? 
For  it  would  seem,  as  if  he  had  ventured  upon  this  action 
without  due  consideration.  I  answer,  that  the  saints  have 
sometimes  been  under  peculiar  and  extraordinary  impulses, 
which  ought  not  to  be  estimated  by  the  ordinary  standard  of 

^  "Leqiiel  outre  les  limites  de  sa  vocation." — Fr. 


232  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

actions.  When  Moses  slew  the  Egyptian,  Exod.  ii.  12, 
though  not  yet  called  by  God  to  be  the  deliverer  of  Israel, 
and  while  he  was  not  yet  invested  with  the  power  of  the 
sword,  it  is  certain,  that  he  was  moved  by  the  invisible  and 
internal  impulse  of  God  to  undertake  that  deed.  Phinehas 
was  moved  by  a  similar  impulse.  No  one  indeed  imagined 
that  he  was  armed  with  the  sword  of  God,  yet  he  was  con- 
scious to  himself  of  being  moved  by  a  heavenly  influence  in 
this  matter.  And  hence  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  com- 
mon mode  and  order  of  calling  which  God  adopts,  does  not 
prevent  him,  whenever  it  seems  proper,  to  stir  up  his  elect  by 
the  secret  influence  of  the  Spirit  to  the  performance  of  praise- 
worthy deeds. 

But  a  more  difficult  question  still  remains.  How  that 
one  action  could  be  imputed  to  Phinehas  for  righteousness?' 
Paul  proves  that  men  are  justified  by  faith  alone,  because 
it  is  written,  "  Abraham  believed  God,  and  it  was  counted 
unto  him  for  righteousness,"  Rom.  iv.  3.  In  Gen.  xv.  6, 
Moses  employs  the  same  word.  If  the  same  thing  may  be 
said  respecting  works,  the  reasoning  of  Paul  will  be  not  only 
feeble,  but  frivolous.  First  of  all,  let  us  examine,  whether  or 
not  Phinehas  was  justified  on  account  of  this  deed  alone. 
Verily  the  law,  though  it  could  justify,  by  no  means  promises 
salvation  to  any  one  work,  but  makes  justification  to  consist 
in  the  perfect  observance  of  all  the  commandments.  It  re- 
mains, therefore,  that  we  affirm,  that  the  work  of  Phinehas 
was  imputed  to  him  for  righteousness,  in  the  same  way  as 
God  imputes  the  works  of  the  faithful  to  them  for  righteous- 
ness, not  in  consequence  of  any  intinnsic  merit  which  they 
possess,  but  of  his  own  free  and  unmerited  grace.     And  as  it 


'  "  And  it  was  counted  to  him  for  righteousness.  Dr  Hammoud  properly 
observes,  that  this  expression  signifies  something  more  than  justifying^ 
as  being  the  opposite  of  condemning ;  for  thus  it  would  denote  no  more 
than  acquitting  Phinehas,  who  had  certainly  committed  no  oftence  ;  on 
the  contrary,  by  this  act  an  offended  God  was  satisfied.  He  gives  to 
npiVi  therefore,  the  sense  of  reward^  in  which  he  is  supported  by  the 
Chaldee,  which  has  i3|^,  for  merit.  Mendlessohn  also,  in  his  Beor  to 
Gen.  XV.  6,  where  this  phrase  occurs,  assigus  to  ^p^^"^  the  meaning  of 
merit  or  reward.  The  reward  in  this  case,  we  learn  from  the  history,  con- 
sisted in  placing  the  priesthood  in  his  family  for  ever  and  ever.,  as  stated 
in  the  next  portion  of  the  verse. — See  Num.  xxv.  13." — Phillips. 


PSALM  CVI.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  233 

thus  appears,  that  the  perfect  observance  of  the  law  alone 
(which  is  done  no  where)  constitutes  righteousness,  all  men 
must  prostrate  themselves  with  confusion  of  face  before  God's 
judgment-seat.  Besides,  were  our  works  strictly  examined, 
they  would  be  found  to  be  mingled  with  much  imperfection. 
We  have,  therefore,  no  other  source  than  to  flee  for  refuge  to 
the  free  unmerited  mercy  of  God.  And  not  only  do  we  re- 
ceive righteousness  by  grace  through  faith,  but  as  the  moon 
borrows  her  light  from  the  sun,  so  does  the  same  faith  render 
our  works  righteous,  because  our  corruptions  being  mortified, 
they  are  reckoned  to  us  for  righteousness.  In  short,  faith 
alone,  and  not  human  merit,  procures  both  for  persons  and 
for  works  the  character  of  righteousness.  I  now  return  to 
Paul.  And  it  is  not  from  a  single  expression,  that  he  argues 
that  we  are  justified  freely,  and  by  faith  only,  but  he  assumes 
higher  principles,  to  which  I  lately  referred,  that  all  men  are 
destitute  of  righteousness,  until  God  reconcile  them  to  him- 
self by  the  blood  of  Christ ;  and  that  faith  is  the  means  by 
which  pardon  and  reconciliation  are  obtained,  because  justi- 
fication by  works  is  no  where  to  be  obtained.  Hence  he  very 
properly  concludes,  that  we  are  justified  by  faith  alone.  But 
righteousness  by  works  is  as  it  were  subordinate  (as  they 
say)  to  the  righteousness  just  mentioned,,  while  works  pos- 
sess no  value  in  themselves,  excepting,  and  as  far  as,  out  of 
pure  benevolence,  God  imputes  them  to  us  for  righteousness. 

32.  And  they  provoked  him  to  anger  at  the  waters  of  strife,^  and 

it  turned  out  ill  to  Moses  on  their  account : 

33.  For  they  grieved  his  spirit,^  so  that  he  spake  with  his  lips. 

34.  They  did  not  destroy  the  nations  whom  Jehovah  had  com- 

manded them :  ^ 

35.  Bat  were  mingled  with^  the  heathen,  and  learned  their  toorks. 

36.  And  served  their  idols  :  which  loere  the  occasion  of  their  over- 

throw. 

37.  And  sacrificed  their  sons  and  daughters  unto  devils, 

1  At  the  zvaters  of  Meribah,  whevQ  "  they  strove  with  the  Lord,"  Num. 

XX.  13. — Sec  Ps.  xcv.  8. 

^  "  Ou,  feirent  rebeller." — Fr.  marg.       "  Or,  made  his  spirit  to  rebel." 
3  "  'But  were  mingled  among,'  rather,  '  But  formed  alliances  Avith.'" 

— Harslet/. 


234  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

38.  And  they  shed  innocent  blood,  the   blood  of  their  sons  and 

their  daughters,  whom  they  sacrificed  to  the  idols  of  Canaan  ; 
and  the  land  was  defiled  with  blood. 

39.  And  they  were  polluted  v;ith  their  own  worJcs,  and  went  a 

whoring  after  their  own  inventions? 

32.  And  they  provoked  tdm.  The  prophet  mentions  another 
offence  of  which  they  were  guilty,  in  that  they  contended 
with  God  at  the  waters  of  strife,  from  which  circumstance 
that  place  derived  its  name.  The  clamour  was,  it  is  true, 
raised  directly  against  Moses,  but  if  we  examine  the  matter 
properly,  we  will  find  that  they  virtually  murmured  against 
God  himself.  And  to  point  out  the  aggravation  of  their 
offence,  he  says  that  Moses  was  hardly  dealt  with  on  their 
account.  From  this  it  may  be  inferred  that  their  transgres- 
sion was  very  heinous,  in  that  God  did  not  spare  even  his 
own  servant,  whom  he  had  chosen  in  preference  to  all  others. 
We  do  not  deny  that  Moses  deserved  that  punishment ;  but 
if  we  search  for  the  origin  of  the  trespass,  we  will  find  that 
it  was  the  sin  of  the  people  that  was  visited  upon  him.  If 
Moses  was  prevented  from  entering  the  land  of  Canaan,  be- 
cause through  the  inflnence  of  the  sin  of  others,  and  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  convictions  of  his  own  mind,  he  had  been  hurried 
on  to  the  commission  of  iniquity,  how  much  more  inexcus- 
able is  the  impiety  of  that  people  who  deliberately  strove  with 
God,  and  by  their  folly  and  fretfulness,  brought  in  Moses  for 
a  share  of  their  gnilt  ? 

33.  For  they  grieved  his  spirit.  The  verb  TV\tlii  marah,  pro- 
perly signifies  to  vex  or  irritate^  but  as  it  is  here  put  in  what  the 
Hebrews  call  the  Hiphil  conjugation,  some  are  of  opinion 
that  it  is  to  be  understood  passively,  to  denote  that  it  was 
the  people  who  were  the  occasion  of  the  rebellion  ;  which 
interpretation  does  not  appear  to  me  to  be  very  objectionable. 
I  cannot,  however,  agree  with  those  who  would  have  the 
particle  ^i^{)  eth,  to  be  a  sign  of  what  is  denominated  the 
dative  case,  as  if  Moses  might  be  said  to  have  rebelled  against 

'  " 'And  went  a  whoring  with  their  own  inventions  ; '  rather, — 

'  and  play  the  wanton  in  their  perverse  habits.'" — Horsley. 


PSALM  CVI.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  235 

the  Spirit  of  God.  Had  he  done  so,  then  assuredly  the  pro- 
phet would  not  have  spoken  so  severely  of  the  sin  and  folly 
into  which  he  had  inadvertently  fallen.  The  meaning 
which  I  have  already  given  answers  very  well,  That  the  prime 
movers  of  the  rebellion  must  have  committed  a  very  heinous 
offence,  seeing  that  Moses,  who  had  been  pushed  on  by  the 
impetuosity  of  the  people  to  sin,  was  so  severely  dealt  with 
by  God.  But  while  the  prophet  informs  us  that  Moses  was 
punished  on  the  people's  account,  he  is  not  to  be  understood 
as  saying  that  he  was  altogether  blameless.  For  even  ad- 
mitting that  his  spirit  was  ruffled  in  consequence  of  the 
tumult  of  the  people,  this  ought  to  have  made  him  the  more 
careful  to  continue  stedfast  in  his  adherence  to  the  Law  of 
God.  He  adds,  that  he  spoke  with  his  lips ;  and  this  I  take  to 
refer  to  Moses,  there  being  no  ground  for  the  conjecture  that 
it  refers  to  the  punishment  which  God  expressly  denounced 
against  Moses.  It  is  more  likely  that  these  words  were  in- 
tended by  the  prophet  to  express  how  greatly  the  spirit  of 
Moses  was  agitated  when  he  openly  murmured  against  God. 
The  prophet,  therefore,  informs  us  that  the  submissive  and 
gentle  spirit  of  Moses  was  fanned,  as  it  were,  into  a  breeze 
by  the  perverseness  of  the  people,  so  that  even  he  spake  un- 
advisedly, saying,  "Can  God  give  you  water  out  of  the  rock  ?" 
(Num.  XX.  10.)  For  such  was  the  indignation  which  he  felt 
burning  within  him,  that  he  could  not  calmly  Avait  for  the 
commandment  of  God  to  smite  the  rock. 

34.  They  did  not  destroy  the  nations.  It  appears  to  me  that 
those  persons  are  mistaken  who  think  that  the  prophet  is  here 
simply  giving  a  relation  of  the  punishment  which  was  in- 
flicted upon  the  Jews,  as  if  he  were  imputing  to  them  the 
entire  blame  of  not  exterminating  the  nations,  in  consequence 
of  their  not  deserving  the  honour  of  obtaining  any  more  vic- 
tories over  them.  But  he  rather  prefers  another  charge 
against  them,  that  they  had  been  remiss  in  driving  out  the 
heathen,  or  more  probably  that  they  had  not  obeyed  the 
Divine  command  to  root  them  out  of  the  land.  Noav  that 
the  cup  of  the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  was  full,  it  was  the 
purpose  of  God  that  they  should  be  exterminated,  lest  their 


236  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

society  might  prove  injurious  to  the  holy  people.  For  God, 
having  chosen  that  land  for  a  habitation  to  himself,  intended 
that  it  should  be  holy  and  purified  from  all  defilement.  In 
refusing,  therefore,  to  execute  the  vengeance  enjoined  upon 
them,  the  people  showed  their  willingness  to  associate  with 
the  uncircumcised  inhabitants  of  Canaan.  In  manifesting 
such  indifference  about  God's  command  respecting  the  driv- 
ing out  these  nations,  they  gave  just  cause  for  his  anger  wax- 
ing hot  against  them.  Behold,  saith  he,  I  have  commanded 
all  these  nations  to  be  cut  off  by  the  sword  ;  and  now,  because 
ye  have  not  obeyed  my  voice,  "  they  shall  be  pricks  in  your 
eyes,  and  thorns  in  your  sides,  and  shall  vex  you  in  the  land 
wherein  ye  dwell,"  (Num.  xxxiii.  55.)  The  not  destroying 
all  these  nations,  but  permitting  some  of  them  to  remain, 
might  appear  to  be  an  act  of  mercy ;  but  in  thus  acting,  the 
people  were  guilty  of  neglecting  to  execute  God's  righteous 
vengeance  upon  them,  and  of  leaving  the  land  liable  to  be 
polluted  with  their  abominations.  From  these  things  It 
ought  to  be  noticed,  that  there  are  two  extremes  in  which 
men  are  apt  to  indulge,  either  in  being  unnecessarily  over 
rigorous,  or  in  defeating  the  ends  of  justice  by  too  great 
lenity.  We  must,  therefore,  adhere  strictly  to  God's  com- 
mand, if  we  would  desire  to  shun  both  extremes.  For  if  the 
Israelites  are  condemned  for  sparing  some  of  these  nations 
wholly,  what  are  we  to  think  of  those  judges  who,  from  a 
timid  and  apathetic  attention  to  the  responsible  duties  of 
their  office,  exercise  too  much  lenity  to  a  few  persons,  thus 
weakening  the  restraints  of  the  inlets  to  vice,  to  the  great 
detriment  of  the  pubHc  weal? 

35.  But  luere  mingled.  He  describes  what  was  the  result 
of  this  foolish  humanity;  namely,  that  they  were  defiled 
Avith  the  pollutions  of  the  nations  whom  they  had  spared. 
Had  they  exclusively  inhabited  the  land  of  Canaan,  they 
would  have  more  easily  retained  the  pure  worship  of  God. 
Allured  by  the  influence  of  such  neighbours,  it  is  not  won- 
derful that  they  soon  degenerated  from  the  footsteps  of  their 
fathers,  for  we  are  more  inclined  to  follow  the  example  of 
the  bad  than  of  the  good.     And  now  he  speaks  of  the  de- 


PSALM  CVI.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.       '        237 

scendants  of  tliose  who  had  so  frequently  provoked  God's 
anger  in  the  wilderness,  and  declares,  that  as  the  same  un- 
belief, rebellion,  and  ingratitude,  were  rampant  in  the  suc- 
ceeding race,  they  were  no  better  than  their  fathers. 

In  mingling  with  the  heathens  they  openly  rejected  the 
distinguishing  loving-kindness  of  God,  who  adopted  them  as 
his  children,  under  the  express  condition  that  they  should  be 
separated  from  these  profane  nations.  Therefore,  in  associat- 
ing with  them  indiscriminately,  they  render  this  holy  cove- 
nant of  no  effect.  When  he  adds,  that  they  learned  their  icorks, 
he  warns  us,  that  nothing  is  more  dangerous  than  associating 
with  the  ungodly  ;  because,  being  more  prone  to  follow  vice 
than  virtue,  it  cannot  but  be,  that  the  more  conversant  we 
are  with  corruption,  the  more  widely  will  it  spread.  In 
such  circumstances,  the  utmost  care  and  caution  are  re- 
quisite, lest  the  wicked,  with  whom  we  come  into  contact, 
infect  us  by  their  vitiated  morals  ;  and  particularly  where 
there  is  danger  of  relapsing  into  idolatry,  to  which  we  are 
all  naturally  prone.  What,  then,  will  be  the  effect  produced 
upon  us  when  instigated  by  others  to  commit  sin,  but  to  add 
sin  to  sin?^  The  pi'ophet,  therefore,  declares  that  the  Jews 
were  already  so  much  under  the  tuition  of  the  heathen  as  to 
abandon  themselves  to  the  practice  of  their  idolatrous  rites. 
In  employing  the  word  to  serve,  he  confutes  the  contemptible 
evasion  of  the  Papists,  who  pretend  that  they  do  not  give 
to  images  the  worship  that  is  due  to  God  alone,  but  only  a 
sort  of  honorary  adoration.^  But  if  the  worshipping  of 
images  be  lawful,  the  prophet  had  no  sufficient  cause  to  con- 
demn his  own  nation  for  serving  strange  gods.  Despicable, 
therefore,  is  the  distinction,  that  Divine  homage  is  to  be 
paid  to  God  alone,  and  that  a  kind  of  honorary  adoration  is 
to  be  given  to  images.  He  adds,  that  this  issued  in  their  over- 
throw, in  order  that  their  obstinate  attachment  to  their  follies, 

1  "  Quid  igitur  fiet  ubi  oleum  camino  addet  aliena  instigatio  ?'' — Lat. 
"  Que  sera-ce  done  quand  rinstigation  d'autruy^ettera  (comme  Ton  dit) 
de  riiuile  dedans  le  feu?"— Fr. 

2  "  Dum  adoratioue  dulias,  non  latrlse,  se  imagines  colere  excusant." 
— Lat. — See  vol.  ii.  p.  272,  note. 


238  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

and  their  despising  the  chastisements  of  God,  may  more  pal- 
pably appear. 

37.  And  they  sacrificed.  The  prophet  here  mentions  one 
species  of  superstition  which  demonstrates  the  awful  blindness 
of  the  people  ;  their  not  hesitating  to  sacrifice  their  sons  and 
daughters  to  devils.*  In  applying  such  an  abominable  de- 
signation to  the  sin  of  the  people,  he  means  to  exhibit  it  in 
more  hateful  colours.  From  this  we  learn  that  inconsider- 
ate zeal  is  a  flimsy  pretext  in  favour  of  any  act  of  devotion. 
For  by  how  much  the  Jews  were  under  the  influence  of 
burning  zeal,  by  so  much  does  the  prophet  convict  them  with 
being  guilty  of  greater  wickedness  ;  because  their  madness 
carried  them  away  to  such  a  pitch  of  enthusiasm,  that  they 
did  not  spare  even  their  own  ofi'spring.  Were  good  inten- 
tions meritorious,  as  idolaters  suppose,  then  indeed  the  lay- 
ing aside  of  all  natural  afl'ection  in  sacrificing  their  own  chil- 
dren was  a  deed  deserving  of  the  highest  praise.  But  Avhen 
men  act  under  the  impulse  of  their  own  capricious  humoui', 
the  more  they  occupy  themselves  with  acts  of  external  wor- 
ship, the  more  do  they  increase  their  guilt.  For  what  dif- 
ference was  there  between  Abraham  and  those  persons  of 

*  "  Clt^*^)  to  the  devils.  This  word  is  found  only  here  and  in  Dent, 
xxxii.  17,  '  They  sacrificed  unto  devils^  not  to  God,'  &c.  Some  persons 
derive  it  from  T)J»>,  to  lay  waste.  Michaelis,  from  an  Arabic  word,  signi- 
fying to  be  black.  Hengstenberg,  from  an  Arabic  word,  signifjang  to  exer- 
cise lordship.  Whatever  root  may  be  the  trne  one,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  DHEJ'  denotes  false  gods  of  some  kind  or  another  to  which  human 
sacrifices  were  offered." — Phillips.  That  the  Canaanites,  and  then-  de- 
scendants, the  Carthaginians,  as  well  as  other  heathen  nations,  sacrificed 
men,  and  even  their  dearest  children,  to  appease  their  deities,  is  a  fact 
established  not  only  from  the  Sacred  Writings,  but  also  from  profane 
history ;  and  strange  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  no  less  certain,  that  in  this 
they  were  imitated  by  the  Israelites,  who  offered  their  sons  and  daugh- 
ters to  the  same  false  gods.  Compare  2  Kings  xvi.  3  ;  xvii.  17  ;  xxi. 
6 ;  2  Chron.  xxviii.  3  ;  xxxiii.  6.  They  had  been  expressly  warned 
against  this  horrid  practice,  (Lev.  xviii.  21 ;  xx.  3  ;  Deut.  xii.  31  ;  xviii. 
10  ;)  but  so  infatuated  were  they,  and  such  is  the  desperate  wickedness 
of  the  human  heart  and  the  power  of  Satan  over  men,  that  they  fre- 
quently relapsed  into  it.  '  Dr  Adam  Clarke  translates  the  original  word 
which  Calvin  renders  devils  hj  demons.  "  Devil"  says  he,  "  is  never  in 
Scripture  used  in  the  plural ;  there  is  but  one  devil,  though  there 
arc  MANY  demons." 


PSALM  CVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  239 

•whom  the  prophet  makes  mention,  but  that  the  former,  under 
the  influence  of  faith,  was  ready  to  offer  up  his  son,  while  the 
latter,  carried  away  by  the  impulse  of  intemperate  zeal,  cast 
off  all  natural  affection,  and  imbrued  their  hands  in  the  blood 
of  their  own  offspring. 

38.  And  they  shed.  He  inveighs  with  still  greater  indig- 
nation against  that  religious  phrensy  which  led  them  to  sacri- 
fice their  own  children,  and  thus  to  pollute  the  land  by  the 
shedding  of  innocent  blood.  Should  any  one  object  that 
Abraham  is  praised,  because  he  did  not  withhold  his  only  son, 
the  answer  is  plain.  That  he  did  it  in  obedience  to  God's 
command,  so  that  every  vestige  of  inhumanity  was  effaced 
by  means  of  the  purity  of  faith.  For  if  obedience  is  better 
than  sacrifice,  (1  Sam.  xv.  22,)  it  is  the  best  rule  both  for 
morality  and  religion.  It  is  an  awful  manifestation  of  God's 
vindictive  wrath,  when  the  superstitious  heathens,  left  to 
their  OAvn  inventions,  become  hardened  in  deeds  of  horrid 
cruelty.  As  often  as  the  martyrs  put  their  life  in  jeopardy 
in  defence  of  the  truth,  the  incense  of  such  a  sacrifice  is 
pleasing  to  God.  But  when  the  two  Romans,  by  name 
Decii,^in  an  execrable  manner  devoted  themselves  unto  death, 
that  was  an  act  of  atrocious  impiety.  It  is  not  without  just 
cause,  therefore,  that  the  prophet  enhances  the  guilt  of  the 
people  by  this  consideration,  that  to  the  perverse  mode  of 
worshipping  God,  they  had  added  excessive  cruelty.  Nor  is 
there  less  cause  for  charging  them  with  having  polluted  that 
land  out  of  which  God  had  commanded  them  to  expel  the 
ancient  inhabitants,  in  order  that  he  might  render  it  the 
peculiar  scene  where  he  was  to  be  worshij^ped.  The  Israel- 
ites then  were  doubly  wicked,  who,  by  not  only  defiling  the 
land  with  their  idolatry,  but  also  by  cruelly  butchering  their 
children,  robbed  God  of  his  due,  and  in  a  manner  frustrated 
his  designs. 


'a' 


39.  And  they  were pollutedwith  their  own  works.  He  now  con- 
cludes by  stating  generally,  that  the  Jews,  in  adopting  the 


1  11 


Mais  quand  les  deux  Romaiiis  nonnnez  Decii." — Fr. 


240  COMMENTAEY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

abominabl  e  practices  of  the  heathen,  were  become  wholly  fil  thy ; 
because  in  all  the  devices  of  men  there  is  nothing  else  than  im- 
purity. He  denominates  as  the  works  of  men  all  the  false  wor- 
ship which  they  devise  without  the  Divine  sanction  ;  as  if  he 
should  say,  that  the  holiness,  which  is  truly  connected  with  the 
worship  of  God,  comes  from  his  word,  and  that  all  human 
inventions  and  admixtures  in  religion  are  profane,  and  tend 
to  corrupt  the  service  of  God.  Doubtless  it  was  the  inten- 
tion of  the  Israelites  to  serve  God,  but  the  Holy  Spirit  de- 
clares that  all  the  fruit  of  their  burning  zeal  was  their  becom- 
ing more  abominable  in  God's  sight  by  their  lewd  inventions. 
For  a  strict  adherence  to  the  word  of  God  constitutes  spiri- 
tual chastity. 

40.  And  the  wrath  of  Jehovah  waxed  hot  against  his  people,  and 

he  abhorred  his  own  inheritance  : 

41.  And  he  delivered  them  into  the  hands  of  the  heathen;  and 

their  enemies  ruled  over  them. 

42.  And  their  adversaries  subdued  them,  and  they  were  afflicted 

under  tJieir  hand. 

43.  Many  times  he  delivered  them ;  and  they  provoked  him  with 

their  counsel,  and  were  oppressed  by  their  iniquity, 

44.  And  he  saw  when  they  were  in  straits,  in  that  he  heard  their 

cry : 

45.  And  he  remembered  his  covenant  towards  them,  and  it  re- 

pented him  according  to  the  greatness  of  his  mercies. 

46.  And  he  made  them  to  find  pity  from  those  who  had  carried 

them  away  captive. 

40.  And  the  wrath  of  Jehovah  waxed  hot.  The  severity  of 
the  punishment  inflicted  upon  the  people  confirms  the  truth 
of  what  we  formerly  said,  that  they  had  been  guilty  of  no 
trivial  offence,  in  presuming  to  corrupt  the  worship  of  God. 
And  they  themselves  showed  how  hopeless  their  reformation 
was,  in  that  all  this  as  yet  failed  to  bring  them  truly  to  re- 
pent of  their  sin.  That  the  people,  who  were  God's  sacred 
and  chosen  heritage,  were  delivered  up  to  the  abominations 
of  the  heathen,  who  themselves  were  the  slaves  of  the  devil, 
was  an  awful  manifestation  of  his  vindictive  wrath.  Then, 
at  least,  ought  they  to  have  held  in  abhorrence  their  own 


PSALM  CVr.  THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  241 

wickedness,  by  which  they  had  been  precipitated  into  such 
direful  calamities.  In  saying,  that  they  were  subdued  and  af- 
Jiicted  hy  their  enemies,,  the  prophet  points  out,  in  a  still  more 
astonishing  manner,  the  baseness  of  their  conduct.  Reduced 
to  a  state  of  bondage  and  oppression,  their  folly  appears  the 
more  disgraceful,  in  that  they  were  not  truly  and  heartily 
humbled  under  God's  almighty  hand.  For  prior  to  this,  they 
had  been  warned  by  Moses,  that  they  had  not  casually  fallen 
into  that  bondage  so  galling  to  them,  neither  had  it  happened 
by  the  valour  of  their  enemies,  but  because  they  were  given 
over,  and,  as  it  were,  sold  to  it  by  God  himself.  That  those 
who  had  refused  to  bear  his  yoke,  should  be  delivered  up  to 
tyrants  to  harass  and  oppress  them,  and  that  those  who 
would  not  endure  to  be  ruled  by  God's  paternal  sway, 
should  be  subdued  by  their  enemies,  to  be  trodden  under 
their  feet,  is  a  striking  example  of  God's  retributive  justice. 

43.  Many  times.  As  the  wicked  perversity  of  the  peo- 
ple was  manifested  in  that  God's  severe  chastisements  failed 
to  produce  their  reformation,  so  now,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
prophet  deduces  the  detestable  hardness  of  their  hearts  from 
the  fact,  that  all  the  benefits  which  they  had  received  from 
God  could  not  bend  them  into  obedience.  They  did,  indeed, 
in  the  time  of  their  afflictions,  groan  under  the  burden  of 
them  ;  but  when  God  not  only  mitigated  their  punishment, 
but  also  granted  them  wonderful  deliverances,  can  their  sub- 
sequent backsliding  be  excused  ?  It  becomes  us  to  bear  in 
mind,  that  here,  as  in  a  glass,  we  have  a  picture  of  the  nature 
of  all  mankind;  for  let  God  but  adopt  those  very  means  which 
he  employed  in  relation  to  the  Israelites,  in  order  to  reclaim  the 
majority  of  the  sons  of  men,  how  comparatively  few  are  there 
who  will  not  be  found  continuing  in  the  very  same  state  as 
they  were  ?  And  if  he  either  humble  us  by  the  severity  of 
his  rod,  or  melt  us  by  his  kindness,  the  effect  is  only  tem- 
porary ;  because,  though  he  visit  us  with  correction  upon 
correction,  and  heap  kindness  upon  kindness,  yet  we  very 
soon  relapse  into  our  wonted  vicious  practices.  As  for 
the  Jews,  their  insensate  stupidity  was  insufferable,  in  that, 
notwithstanding    the  many    and    magnificent    deliverances 

VOL.   IV.  Q 


242  COMMENTAEY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

which  God  wrought  out  for  them,  they  did  not  cease  from 
their  backshdings.  For  the  Psalmist  says,  that  they,  neverthe- 
less, jjrovoked  Godivith  their  icicked  inventions.  Then  he  declares 
that  they  received  a  just  recompense  of  reward  in  being  op- 
pressed by  their  iniquity.  Moreover,  he  informs  us,  that 
though  they  were  most  deserving  of  all  their  afflictions,  yet 
their  groanings  were  heard ;  whence  we  learn,  that  God,  in 
his  unwearied  kindness,  did  not  cease  to  strive  with  them  on 
account  of  their  perverseness  of  spirit. 

For  what  pity  was  this,  to  hear  the  cry  of  those  who 
turned  a  deaf  ear  to  his  wise  instructions,  and  were  regardless 
of  all  his  warnings  and  threatenings  ?  And  yet  after  all  this 
forbearance  and  long-suffering,  their  exceedingly  depraved 
hearts  remained  unchanged. 

45.  And  he  remembered.  God's  being  mindful  of  his 
covenant  is  here  assigned  as  the  cause  of  his  great  mercy  and 
long-suffering.  In  that  covenant,  he  not  only  declares  that 
there  is  a  gracious  pardon  for  transgressions,  but  he  also  ad- 
verts to  the  perverse  blindness  of  those  who  were  not  brought 
back  by  such  remedies  to  the  covenant,  in  which  they  were 
well  aware  that  their  safety  was  placed.  But  above  all,  he 
charges  them  with  ingratitude ;  because,  when  deserving  to 
perish,  they  did  not  acknowledge  that  they  were  indebted  to 
the  mercy  of  God  alone  for  their  preservation.  This  obser- 
vation is  strengthened  by  the  next  clause  of  the  verse,  in 
which  he  says  that  God  had  spared  them  according  to  the 
greatness  of  his  mercies.  For  the  greatness  of  the  punishment 
which  their  sins  deserved,  may  be  inferred  from  the  great 
treasures  of  his  loving-kindness,  which  God  had  to  open  in 
order  to  procure  their  redemption.  The  word  to  repent  expresses 
no  change  in  God,  but  only  in  the  mode  of  administering  his 
corrections.  It  may  seem  as  if  God  altered  his  purpose, 
when  he  mitigates  punishment,  or  withdraws  his  hand  from 
executing  his  judgments.  The  Scripture,  however,  accommo- 
dating itself  to  our  weak  and  limited  capacity,  speaks  only 
after  the  manner  of  men. 

46.  And  he  made  them  ta  find  pity.     As  he  had  above  said, 


PSALM  CVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  243 

that  the  Jews  had  been  delivered  into  the  hands  of  their  ene- 
mies, because  God's  anger  was,  as  it  were,  arms  to  their  ad- 
versaries to  subdue  them  ;  so  now  he  says,  that  the  same 
God  had  softened  the  hearts  of  these  very  enemies,  who,  by 
terrible  means,  and  with  great  cruelty,  had  executed  his  ven- 
geance upon  them.  As,  then,  the  hearts  of  all  men  are  en- 
tirely under  God's  control,  to  harden  or  to  soften  them  ac- 
cording to  his  sovereign  pleasure,  so,  while  his  anger  was 
kindled  against  his  people,  their  enemies  were  at  the  same  time 
also  inflamed  with  implacable  resentment  towards  them.  But 
the  moment  his  anger  was  appeased,  the  fire  which  issued 
from  the  furnace  of  his  judgment  was  extinguished,  and  the 
cruelty  of  their  enemies  was  changed  into  mercy.  And  that 
enemies,  cruel  and  barbarous,  should  begin  to  love  and  pity 
those  whom  they  formerly  hated,  was  a  change  so  astonishing 
as  to  be  incredible,  had  they  not,  in  the  kind  providence  of 
God,  from  wolves  been  transformed  into  lambs. 

47.  Save  us,  0  Jehovah  our  God!  and  gather  us  from  among  the 

heathen,  to  praise  thy  holy  name,  and  to  glory  in  thy  praise. 

48.  Blessed  he  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel,  for  ever  and  ever  ;  and 

let  all  the  people  say,  Amen.     Praise  ye  Jehovah.^ 

47.  Save  us,  Jehovah  our  God  !  From  the  conclusion  of  the 
psalm,  it  is  evident,  that  it  was  composed  during  the  sad  and 
calamitous  dispersion  of  the  people.  And  although  subse- 
quent to  the  times  of  Haggai  and  Malaohi,  no  famous  pro- 
phets appeared  among  the  people,  it  is  nevertheless  probable 
that  some  of  the  priests  were  endued  with  the  spirit  of  pro- 
phecy, in  order  that  they  might  direct  them  to  the  source 
whence  they  might  receive  all  needful  consolation.  It  is  my 
opinion,  that  after  they  were  dispersed  by  the  tyranny  of 

1  The  Hebrew  for  "  Praise  ye  Jehovah,"  is  n''-l'?^n,  Halelmjah,—^  word 
which  occurs  very  frequently  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  psalms.  The 
LXX.,  leaving  it  untranslated,  have  A?iAhAov(o«.  From  this  solemn  form 
of  praise  to  God,  wiiich  no  doiibt  was  far  more  ancient  than  the  time  of 
David,  the  ancient  Greeks  plainly  had  their  similar  acclamation,  EasAew 
In,  with  which  they  both  began  and  ended  their  poems  or  hymns  in 
honour  of  Apollo. — See  Parkhursfs  Lexicon  on  ^'pn,  iv.  AVith  this  psalm 
is  concluded  the  foiu'th  of  the  books  into  which  the  Psalms  have  been 
divided  by  the  Jews. 


244  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVI. 

Antiochus,  this  form  of  prayer  was  adapted  to  the  exigency 
of  their  existing  circumstances,  in  which  the  people,  by  re- 
flecting upon  their  former  history,  might  acknowledge  that 
their  fathers  had,  in  ways  innumerable,  provoked  God  to 
wrath,  since  the  time  he  had  delivered  them.  For  it  was 
needful  for  them  to  be  completely  humbled,  to  prevent  them 
from  murmuring  against  God's  dispensations.  And  seeing 
that  God  had  extended  pardon  to  their  fathers  though  un- 
deserving of  it,  that  was  calculated  to  inspire  them  hereafter 
with  the  hope  of  forgiveness,  provided  they  carefully  and 
cordially  sought  to  be  reconciled  to  him ;  and  especially  is  this 
the  case,  because  there  is  here  a  solemn  remembrance  of  the 
covenant,  through  the  faith  of  which  they  might  draw  near 
to  God,  though  his  anger  was  not  yet  turned  away.  Be- 
sides, as  God  had  chosen  them  to  be  his  peculiar  people,  they 
call  upon  him  to  collect  into  one  body  the  dissevered  and 
bleeding  members,  according  to  the  prediction  of  Moses,  "  If 
any  of  thine  be  driven  out  unto  the  utmost  parts  of  heaven, 
from  thence  will  the  Lord  thy  God  gather  thee,  and  from 
thence  will  he  fetch  thee,"  (Deut.xxx.4.)  This  prediction  was 
at  length  accomplished,  when  the  widely  separated  multitude 
were  gathered  together,  and  grew  up  in  the  unity  of  the  faith. 
For  although  that  people  never  regained  their  earthly  king- 
dom and  polity,  yet  their  being  grafted  into  the  body  of 
Christ,  was  a  more  preferable  gathering  together.  Wherever 
they  were,  they  were  united  to  each  other,  and  also  to  the 
Gentile  converts,  by  the  holy  and  spiritual  bond  of  faith,  so 
that  they  constituted  but  one  Church,  extending  itself  over 
the  whole  earth.  They  subjoin  the  end  contemplated  by 
their  redemption  from  captivity,  namely,  that  they  might 
celebrate  the  name  of  God,  and  employ  themselves  continually 
in  his  praises. 

48.  Blessed  he  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel.  The  prophet 
here  regulates  the  prayers  and  desires  of  the  people  in  such 
a  way,  as  that,  amid  their  grievous  oppression,  the  dejected  cap- 
tives may  not  cease  to  render  thanks  to  God ;  and  this  is  a 
matter  which  must  be  carefully  attended  to,  because,  when 
borne  down  by  adversity,  there  is  scarcely  one  among  a 


PSALM  CVII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  245 

hundred,  who,  with  composure  of  spirit,  draws  near  to  God ; 
but,  on  the  contrary,  he  betrays  the  pride  of  his  heart  by  the 
careless  and  insipid  manner  in  which  he  prays,  or  in  pouring 
out  complaints  about  his  afflicted  condition.  But  the  only 
way  in  which  we  can  expect  God  to  lend  a  favourable  ear  to 
the  voice  of  our  supplications  is,  in  the  spirit  of  meekness  to 
submit  to  his  corrections,  and  patiently  to  bear  the  cross 
which  he  is  pleased  to  lay  upon  us.  It  is  with  great  pro- 
priety then,  that  the  prophet  exhorts  the  afflicted  captives  to 
bless  God,  even  when  he  was  chastising  them  Avith  consider- 
able severity.  It  is  to  the  same  purpose  that  it  is  added, 
let  the  people  say,  Amen ;  as  if  he  were  commanding  them  all 
to  consent  to  the  praises  of  God,  though  both  privately  and 
publicly  they  were  overwhelmed  in  a  sea  of  troubles. 


PSALM  CVII. 

The  Psalmist  teaches  us,  in  the  first  place,  that  human  affairs  are  not 
regulated  by  the  fickle  and  uncertain  wheel  of  fortune,  but  that  we 
must  observe  the  judgments  of  God  in  the  different  vicissitudes  which 
occur  in  the  world,  and  which  men  imagine  happen  by  chance.  Con- 
sequently, adversity  and  all  the  ills  which  mankind  endure,  as  ship- 
wrecks, famines,  banishments,  diseases,  and  disasters  in  war,  are  to  be 
regarded  as  so  many  tokens  of  God's  displeasure,  by  which  he  sum- 
mons them,  on  account  of  their  sins,  before  his  judicial  throne.  But 
prosperity,  and  the  happy  issue  of  events,  ought  also  to  be  attributed 
to  his  grace,  in  order  that  he  may  always  receive  the  praise  which  he 
deserves,  that  of  being  a  merciful  Father,  and  an  impartial  Judge. 
About  the  close  of  the  psalm,  he  inveighs  against  those  ungodly  men 
who  will  not  acknowledge  God's  hand,  amid  such  palpable  demonstra- 
tions of  his  providence.'- 


^  "The  author  of  this  psalm  is  not  known;  but  it  was  probably  David, 
although  some  think  it  better  to  consider  it  as  having  been  Avritten  after 
the  return  from  the  Babylonish  captivity.  This  psalm  is  of  very  singular 
construction,  and  was  obviously  intended  to  be  sung  in  responses.  It 
has  a  frequently  recurring  double  burden  or  intercalary  verse.  The  first 
burden  is  found  in  verses  6,  13,  19,  28 ;  the  second  8,  15,  21,  31 ;  that 
is,  after  the  description  of  a  class  of  calamities  comes  the  first  chorus  ex- 


246  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVII. 

1.  Praise  Jehovah,  because  he  is  good  :  because  his  mercy  en- 

dureth  for  ever. 

2.  Let  the  redeemed  of  Jehovah  say  this,^  whom  he  hath  redeemed 

out  of  the  hand  of  the  affiicter.^ 

3.  Whom  he  hath  gathered  out  of  the  lands,  from  the  east,  and 

from  the  west,  from  the  north,  and  from  the  south.^ 

pressing  the  cry  to  the  Lord  for  deliverance ;  then  a  single  verse  describes 
the  deliverance  as  gi-anted,  after  which  follows  the  chorns  of  thanksgiving 
— and  thus  on  to  verse  35,  where  the  system  ends.  The  last  two  bur- 
dens are,  however,  separate  by  two  verses  instead  of  one,  as  before.  It 
will  also  be  observed,  that  the  second  chorus  has  sometimes  annexed  an- 
other reflective  distich,  illustrative  of  the  sentiment,  as  in  verses  9,  16. 
There  are  many  other  examples  of  a  similar  aiTangement  to  be  found  in 
the  Psalms;  but  in  Lowth's  opinion,  few  of  them  are  equal,  and  none 
superior,  to  this." — Illustrated  Commentary  upon  the  Bible.  The  beauties 
of  this  very  interesting  and  highly  instructive  composition  are  many 
and  striking,  of  which  tlie  least  intelligent  reader  who  peruses  it  with 
any  degree  of  attention  must  be  convinced.  In  point  of  poetical 
beauty,  it  may,  according  to  the  best  judges,  be  classed  with  the  most 
admired  productions  of  Theocritus,  Bion,  Moschus,  or  Virgil.  "  It 
may  undoubtedly  be  enumerated,"  remarks  Lowth,  "  among  the  most 
elegant  monuments  of  antiquity ;  and  it  is  chiefly  indebted  for  its 
elegance  to  the  general  plan  and  conduct  of  the  poem.  It  celebrates  the 
goodness  and  mercy  of  God  towards  manldnd,  as  demonstrated  in  the 
immediate  assistance  and  comfort  which  he  aflfords,  in  the  greatest  ca- 
lamities, to  those  who  devoutly  implore  his  aid :  in  the  first  place,  to 
those  who  wander  in  the  desert,  and  who  encounter  the  horrors  of  fa- 
mine ;  next,  to  those  who  ai'e  in  bondage  ;  again,  to  those  who  are  af- 
flicted with  disease  ;  and,  finally,  to  those  who  are  tossed  about  upon  the 
ocean.  The  prolixity  of  the  argument  is  occasionally  relieved  by  narra- 
tion ;  and  examples  are  superadded  of  the  divine  severity  in  punishing 
the  wicked,  as  Avell  as  of  his  benignity  to  the  devout  and  virtuous." — 
Lectures  on  the  Sacred  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews,  vol.  ii.  p.  376.  "  Had 
such  an  Idyl,"  says  Dr  Adam  Clarke,  "  appeared  in  Theocritus  or  Virgil, 
or  had  it  been  found  as  a  scene  in  any  of  the  Greek  Tragedies,  even  in 
iEschylus  himself,  it  would  have  been  praised  up  to  the  heavens,  and 
probably  been  produced  as  their  masterpiece." 

^  '■'■  Let  the  redeemed  of  the  Lord  say,  viz.,  Avhat  is  said  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  preceding  verse,  that  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever. — See  Ps. 
cxviii.  1,  and  following  verses." — Phillips. 

2  u  -^^._^,J2^  fro7n  the  hand  ov  power  of  the  enemy.  Luther  has  translated 
it,  aus  Noth,  from  icant ;  in  which  translation  he  is  followed  by  Heng- 
stenberg,  who  observes,  that  -|^;,  want,  '  is  here  personified,  and  is  repre- 
sented as  a  dangerous  enemy,  who  has  Israel  in  his  hand.  In  the  whole 
psalm  the  discourse  is  not  concerning  enemies,  but  only  concerning  want 
or  misery.' — See  verses  6,  13.  He  is  probably  right,  for  it  is  doubtful 
whether  -)^  ever  signifies  an  enemy,  except,  perhaps,  in  a  few  passages  in 
the  latter  books  of  the  Bible."— P//////>s. 

3  The  original  word  is  Q''D1i  "  '"^ud  from  the  sea;"  to  which  agree  all 
the  ancient  versions,  and  the  Chaldee  interprets  it  of  tlie  Southern  Sea. 
C  is  often  put  for  the  Mediterranean  Sea ;  which  being  west  of  Judea, 
tills  word  came  to  signify  generally  the  west,  when  employed  to  express 
one  of  the  cardmal  points,  Gen.  xii.  8  ;  Exod.  x.  19.    But  it  is  also  used 


PSALM  CVII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  247 

4.  They  loandered  from  the  way  in  the  solitary  desert;^  they 

did  not  find  a  city  of  habitation. 

5.  Both  hungry  and  thirsty,  so  that  their  soul  fainted  within 

them. 

6.  In  their  straits  they  called  upon  Jehovah,  and  he  delivered 

them  from  all  their  afflictions. 

7.  And  he  directed  them  by  a  right  way,  that  they  might  come 

to  a  city  of  habitation. 

8.  Let  them  praise  the  mercy  of  Jehovah  in  his  presence,  and 

his  marvellous  works  in  the  presence  of  the  sons  of  men. 

9.  Because  he  hath  satisfied  the  longing  sold,  and  hath  filled  the 

hungry  soul  loith  goodness. 

1.  Praise  Jehovah.  We  have  already  explained  this  verse, 
for  it  formed  the  commencement  of  the  preceding  psalm. 
And  it  appears  that  it  was  not  only  frequently  used  among 
the  Jews,  but  also  so  incorporated  with  other  psalms,  that 
when  one  part  of  the  chorus  on  the  one  side  was  singing  a  por- 
tion of  the  psalm,  the  other  part  of  the  chorus  on  the  opposite 
side  in  its  turn,  after  each  succeeding  verse,  responded.  Praise 
Jehovah^  because  he  is  good,  ^-c.  The  penman  of  this  psalm, 
whoever  he  was,  has,  instead  of  the  ordinary  preface,  inserted 
this  beautiful  sentiment,  in  which  praise  and  thanksgiving  to 
God  were  so  frequently  expressed  by  the  Israelitish  Church. 
Immediately  he  proceeds  to  speak  more  particularly.  And  first, 
he  exhorts  those  to  offer  up  a  tribute  of  gratitude  to  God; 
who,  after  having  been  delivered  from  slavery  and  imprison- 
ment, and  after  a  long  and  painful  journey,  arrived  in  safety 
at  their  place  of  abode.  These  he  calls  the  redeemed  of  God ; 
because,  in  wandering  through  the  trackless  desert,  and  howl- 
ing wilderness,  they  many  a  time  would  have  been  prevented 
from  returning  home,  had  not  God,  as  it  were,  with  his  out- 
stretched hand,  appeared  as  their  guard  and  their  guide.     He 

for  the  Red  Sea,  as  in  Ps.  cxiv.  3,  Avhere  c  is  put  absolutely  for  pjid 
D">,  which  lay  to  the  south  of  Judea,  aud  hence  the  word  might  denote 
the  south  point.  Hare,  Seeker,  Kennicott,  and  Horsley,  would  read 
po^Di  "  from  the  south."  Geseuius  and  Hengstenberg  are  of  opinion, 
apparently  without  sufficient  reason,  that  qv  both  in  this  passage  and 
in  Isa.  xlix.  12,  Avhere  it  is  also  joined  with  pa^j*,  the  north,  has  the  signi- 
fication of  west. 

*  "  Ou,  lis  se  sont  fourvoyez   au  desert  tous  seulets." — Fr.  mary. 
"  Or,  they  wandered  solitary  in  the  desert." 


248  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVII. 

does  not  here  refer  to  travellers  Indiscriminately,  but  to  such  as 
either  by  hostile  power,  or  by  any  other  kind  of  violence,  or  by 
stern  necessity,  having  been  banished  to  distant  regions,  felt 
themselves  to  be  in  the  midst  of  imminent  dangers ;  or  it  may 
be,  that  he  refers  to'  those  who  had  been  made  prisoners  by  ene- 
mies, pirates,  or  other  robbers.  He  reminds  them  that  it  was 
by  no  casual  occurrence  that  they  had  been  driven  about  in 
that  manner,  and  had  been  brought  back  to  their  native 
country,  but  that  all  their  wanderings  had  been  under  the 
superintending  providence  of  God. 

But  the  second  verse  might  be  conjoined  with  the  first,  as 
if  the  prophet  were  commanding  the  persons  whom  he  was 
addressing  to  sing  this  celebrated  ode.  It  may  with  equal 
propriety  be  read  by  itself  thus  :  Let  the  redeemed  of  Jehovah, 
who  have  returned  from  captivity  to  their  own  land,  come 
forth  now,  and  take  part  in  the  celebration  of  God's  praises, 
and  let  them  publish  his  loving-kindness  which  they  have  ex- 
perienced in  their  deliverance.  Among  the  Jews,  who  had 
occasion  to  undertake  extensive  journies,  such  occurrences 
as  these  were  very  common ;  because  they  could  hardly  leave 
their  own  land,  without  from  all  quarters  encountering  ways 
rugged,  and  difficult,  and  perilous ;  and  the  same  observation 
is  equally  applicable  to  mankind  in  general.  He  reminds 
them  how  often  they  wandered  and  turned  aside  from  the 
right  way,  and  found  no  place  of  shelter ;  a  thing  by  no  means 
rare  in  these  lonely  deserts.  Were  a  person  to  enter  a  forest 
without  any  knowledge  of  the  proper  direction,  he  would,  in 
the  course  of  his  wandering,  be  in  danger  of  becoming  the 
prey  of  lions  and  wolves.  He  has,  however,  particularly  in 
his  eye  those  who,  finding  themselves  unexpectedly  in  desert 
places,  are  also  in  danger  of  perishing  for  hunger  and  thirst. 
For  it  is  certain  that  such  persons  are  hourly  in  hazard  of 
death,  unless  the  Lord  come  to  their  rescue. 

6.  In  their  straits  they  called  upon  Jehovah.  The  verbs 
are  here  in  the  past  tense,  and  according  to  grammarians,  re- 
present a  continued  action.  The  meaning  therefore  is,  that 
those  who  are  wandering  in  desert  places  are  often  pinched 
with  hunger  and  thirst  in  consequence  of  finding  no  place  in 


PSALM  CVII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  249 

which  to  lodge ;  and  who,  when  all  hope  of  deliverance  fails 
them,  then  cry  unto  God.  Doubtless,  God  grants  deliverance 
to  many  when  in  straits,  even  though  they  do  not  present 
their  supplications  to  Him  for  aid ;  and  hence  it  was  not  so 
much  the  design  of  the  prophet  in  this  passage  to  extol  the 
faith  of  the  pious,  who  call  upon  God  with  all  their  heart,  as 
to  describe  the  common  feelings  of  humanity.  There  may  be 
not  a  few  whose  hope  does  not  centre  on  God,  who,  neverthe- 
less, are  constrained,  by  some  invisible  disposition  of  mind,  to 
come  to  Him,  when  imder  the  pressure  of  dire  necessity. 
And  this  is  the  plan  which  God  sometimes  pursues,  in  order 
to  extort  from  such  persons  the  acknowledgment  that  de- 
liverance is  to  be  sought  for  from  no  other  quarter  than  from 
Himself  alone ;  and  even  the  ungodly,  who,  while  living  vo- 
luptuously, scoff  at  Him,  he  constrains,  in  spite  of  themselves, 
to  invoke  his  name.  It  has  been  customary  in  all  ages  for 
heathens,  who  look  upon  religion  as  a  fable,  when  compelled 
by  stern  necessity,  to  call  upon  God  for  help.  Did  they  do 
so  in  jest  ?  By  no  means  ;  it  was  by  a  secret  natural  instinct 
that  they  were  led  to  reverence  God's  name,  which  formerly 
they  held  in  derision.  The  Spirit  of  God,  therefore,  in  my 
opinion,  here  narrates  what  frequently  takes  place,  namely, 
that  persons  destitute  of  piety  and  faith,  and  who  have  no 
desire  to  have  any  thing  to  do  with  God,  if  placed  in  perilous 
circumstances,  are  constrained  by  natural  instinct,  and  with- 
out any  proper  conception  of  what  they  are  doing,  to  call  on 
the  name  of  God.  Since  it  is  only  in  dubious  and  desperate 
cases  that  they  betake  themselves  to  God,  this  acknowledg- 
ment which  they  make  of  their  helplessness  is  a  palpable 
proof  of  their  stupidity,  that  in  the  season  of  peace  and  tran- 
quillity they  neglect  him,  so  much  are  they  then  under  the 
intoxicating  influence  of  their  own  prosperity ;  and  notwith- 
standing that  the  germ  of  piety  is  planted  in  their  li^arts, 
they  nevertheless  never  dream  of  learning  wisdom,  unless 
when  driven  by  the  dint  of  adversity ;  I  mean,  to  learn  the 
wisdom  of  acknowledging  that  there  is  a  God  in  heaven  who 
directs  every  event.  It  is  unnecessary  to  allude  here  to  the 
sarcastic  retort  of  the  ancient  buffoon,  who,  on  entering  a 
temple,  and  beholding  a  number  of  tablets  which  several 


250  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVII. 

merchants  had  suspended  there  as  memorials  of  their  having 
escaped  shipwreck,  through  the  kind  interposition  of  the 
gods,  smartly  and  facetiously  remarked,  "  But  the  deaths  of 
those  who  have  been  drowned  are  not  enumerated,  the  num- 
ber of  which  is  innumerable."  Perhaps  he  might  have  some 
just  cause  for  scoffing  In  this  manner  at  such  Idols.  But  even 
if  a  hundredfold  more  were  drowned  in  the  sea  than  safely 
reach  the  harbour,  this  does  not  in  the  least  degree  detract 
from  the  glory  of  the  goodness  of  God,  who,  while  he  is 
merciful,  is  at  the  same  time  also  just,  so  that  the  dispensing 
of  the  one  does  not  interfere  with  the  exercise  of  the  other. 
The  same  observation  applies  to  travellers  that  stray  from  the 
path,  and  wander  up  and  down  In  the  desert.  If  many  of 
them  perish  for  hunger  and  thirst,  if  many  are  devoured  by 
wild  animals.  If  many  die  from  cold,  these  are  nothing  else 
than  so  many  tokens  of  the  judgments  of  God,  which  he  de- 
signs for  our  consideration.  From  which  we  infer  that  the 
same  thing  would  happen  to  all  men,  Avere  It  not  the  will  of 
God  to  save  a  portion  of  them  ;  and  thus  interposing  as  a 
judge  between  them,  he  preserves  some  for  the  sake  of  showing 
his  mercy,  and  pours  out  his  judgments  upon  others  to  de- 
clare his  justice.  The  prophet,  therefore,  very  properly  adds, 
that  by  the  hand  of  God  they  were  led  Into  the  riglit  loay, 
where  they  may  find  a  suitable  place  for  lodging ;  and  con- 
sequently he  exhorts  them  to  render  thanks  to  God  for  this 
manifestation  of  his  goodness.  And  with  the  view  of  en- 
hancing the  loving-kindness  of  God,  he  connects  his  wondrous 
works  with  his  mercy;  as  if  he  should  say.  In  this  kind  in- 
terposition, God's  grace  is  too  manifest,  either  to  be  unper- 
ceived  or  unacknowledged  by  all ;  and  for  those  who  have 
been  the  subjects  of  such  a  remarkable  deliverance,  to  remain 
silent  regarding  it,  would  be  nothing  less  than  an  Impious 
attempt  to  suppress  the  wonderful  doings  of  God,  an  attempt 
equally  vain  with  that  of  endeavouring  to  trample  under  their 
feet  the  light  of  the  sun.  For  what  else  can  be  said  of  us, 
seeing  that  our  natural  Instinct  drives  us  to  God  for  help, 
when  we  are  in  perplexity  and  peril ;  and  when,  after  being 
rescued,  we  forthwith  forget  him,  Avho  will  deny  that  his  glory 
is;  as  it  were,  obscured  by  our  wickedness  and  ingratitude  ? 


PSALM  evil.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  251 

10.  They  iclio  dwell  in  darkness,  and  in  the  shadow  of  death, 

being  bound  in  trouble  and  iron ; 

11.  Because  they  rebelled  against  the  words  of  God,  and  spurned 

the  counsel  of  the  Most  High  : 

12.  When  he  humbled   their  heart   with  affliction  ;    they  were 

brought  loio,  and  there  was  none  to  help  them. 

13.  In  their  affliction  they  cried  to  Jehovah,  and  he  delivered  them 

from  their  tribulations. 

14.  He  rescued  them  from  darkness  and  from  the  shadow  of 

death,  and  brohe  of  their  chains. 

15.  Let  them  praise  the  mercy  of  Jehovah  in  his  presence,  and 

his  marvellous  works  in  the  presence  of  the  sons  of  men. 

16.  Because  he  hath  broken  the   brazen  gates,  and  dashed  in 

pieces  the  iron  bars.^ 

10.  They  ivho  dwell  in  darkness.  The  Spirit  of  God  makes 
mention  here  of  another  species  of  danger  in  which  God 
manifestly  discovers  his  power  and  grace  in  the  protecting 
and  delivering  of  men.  The  world,  as  I  said,  calls  these 
vicissitudes  the  sport  of  fortune  :  and  hardly  one  among  a 
hundred  can  be  found  who  ascribes  them  to  the  superintending 
providence  of  God.     It  is  a  very  different  kind  of  practical 

1  To  secm-e  the  gates  of  cities,  it  is  customaiy  in  the  East,  at  the  pre- 
sent clay,  to  cover  them  with  thick  plates  of  brass  and  iron.  Maundrell 
speaks  of  the  enormous  gates  of  the  principal  mosque  at  Damascus, 
formerly  the  Church  of  St  John  the  Baptist,  being  plated  over  with  brass. 
Pitts  informs  us,  that  Algiers  has  five  gates,  and  some  of  these  have  two, 
some  three,  other  gates  within  them  ;  and  that  some  of  them  are  plated 
all  over  with  thick  iron,  being  made  strong  and  convenient  for  what  it  is 
— a  nest  of  pirates. — Harmefs  Observations.,  vol.  i.  p.  329.  To  such  a 
practice,  which,  in  all  probability,  obtained  in  ancient  times,  there  seems  to 
be  here  a  reference.  From  this  verse  some  have  been  inclined  to  think  that 
the  psalm  was  written  after  the  return  of  the  Jews  from  the  Babylonish 
captivity.  This  deliverance  was  predicted,  in  precisely  the  same  terms, 
in  that  i-emarkable  passage,  where  God  promises  to  go  before  Cyrus  his 
anointed,  and  "  break  in  pieces  the  gates  of  brass,  and  cut  in  sunder  the 
bars  of  iron,"  (Isaiah  xlv.  2.)  This  phraseology  appropriately  expresses 
the  superior  and  almost  impregnable  strength  of  Babylon.  "  Abydenus, 
quoted  by  Eusebius  in  his  Prceparatio  Eva7igeUca,  says  that  the  wall  of 
Babylon  had  brazen  gates.  And  Herodotus  more  paiticularly, — '  In  the 
wall  all  around  there  are  a  hundred  gates  all  of  brass  ;  and  so,  in  like 
manner,  are  the  sides  and  the  lintels.'  The  gates  likewise  within  the 
city,  opening  to  the  river  from  the  several  streets,  were  of  brass  :  as  were 
those  also  of  the  Temple  of  Bclus." — (Lowth  on  Isaiah  xlv.  2.)  But  still 
these  brazen  gates  could  not  secure  the  city  and  the  empire  from  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  instrument  chosen  by  God  for  the  deliverance  of 
his  people. 


252  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVII. 

wisdom  which  God  expects  at  our  hands ;  namely,  that  we 
ought  to  meditate  on  his  judgments  in  the  time  of  adversity, 
and  on  his  goodness  in  delivering  us  from  it.  For  surely  it 
is  not  by  mere  chance  that  a  person  falls  into  the  hands  of 
enemies  or  robbers  ;  neither  is  it  by  chance  that  he  is  rescued 
from  them.  But  this  is  what  we  must  constantly  keep  in 
view,  that  all  afflictions  are  God's  rod,  and  that  therefore 
there  is  no  remedy  for  them  elsewhere  than  in  his  grace.  If 
a  person  fall  into  the  hands  of  robbers  or  pirates,  and  be  not 
instantly  murdered,  but,  giving  up  all  hope  of  life,  expects 
death  every  moment ;  surely  the  deliverance  of  such  a  one  is 
a  striking  proof  of  the  grace  of  God,  which  shines  the  more 
illustriously  in  proportion  to  the  fewness  of  the  number  who 
make  their  escape.  Thus,  then,  should  a  great  number 
perish,  this  circumstance  ought  by  no  means  to  diminish  the 
praises  of  God.  On  this  account  the  prophet  charges  all 
those  with  ingratitude,  who,  after  they  have  been  wonder- 
fully preserved,  very  soon  lose  sight  of  the  deliverance  thus 
vouchsafed  to  them.  And,  to  strengthen  the  charge,  he 
brings  forward,  as  a  testimony  against  them,  their  sighs  and 
cries.  For  when  they  are  in  straits,  they  confess  in  good 
earnest  that  God  is  their  deliverer;  how  happens  it,  then, 
that  this  confession  disappears  when  they  are  enjoying  peace 
and  quietness  ? 

11.  Because  they  rebelled.  In  assigning  the  cause  of 
their  afflictions  he  corrects  the  false  impressions  of  those 
persons  who  imagine  that  these  happen  by  chance.  Were 
they  to  reflect  on  the  judgments  of  God,  they  would  at  once 
perceive  that  there  was  nothing  like  chance  or  fortune  in  the 
government  of  the  world.  Moreover,  until  men  are  per- 
suaded that  all  their  troubles  come  upon  them  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  God,  it  will  never  come  into  their  minds  to  supplicate 
him  for  deliverance.  Farther,  when  the  prophet  assigns  the 
reason  for  their  afflictions,  he  is  not  to  be  regarded  as 
speaking  of  those  persons  as  if  they  were  notoriously  wicked, 
but  he  is  to  be  considered  as  calling  upon  the  afflicted  care- 
fully to  examine  some  particular  parts  of  their  life,  and 
although  no  one  accuse  them,  to  look  into  their  hearts,  where 


PSALM  CVir.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  253 

they  will  always  discover  the  true  origin  of  all  the  miseries 
which  overtake  them.  Nor  docs  he  only  charge  them  with 
having  merely  sinned,  but  with  having  rebelled  against  the 
word  of  God,  thus  intimating  that  the  best  and  only  regula- 
tion for  our  lives  consists  in  yielding  a  prompt  obedience  to 
his  commandments.  When,  therefore,  sheer  necessity  com- 
pels those  who  are  in  this  manner  convicted  to  cry  unto  God, 
they  must  be  insensate  indeed,  if  they  do  not  acknowledge 
that  the  deliverance  which,  contrary  to  their  expectation, 
they  receive,  comes  immediately  from  God.  For  brazen 
gates  and  iron  bars  are  spoken  of  for  the  purpose  of  enhancing 
the  benefit ;  as  if  he  said,  the  chains  of  perpetual  slavery  have 
been  broken  asunder. 

17.  Fools  are  afflicted  on  account  of  the  way  of  their  transgres- 

sion, and  hy  reason  of  their  iniquities. 

18.  Their  soul  loatheth  all  food  ;^  and  they  approach  the  gates 

of  death. 

19.  Then  they  cry  unto  Jehovah  in  their  tribulation  ;  he  saves 

them  from  their  straits. 

20.  He  sendeth  his  word,  and  healeth  them,  and  rescues  them  from 

all  their  corruptions.^ 

2 1 .  Let  them  praise  the  mercy  of  Jehovah  in  his  presence,  and 

his  marvellous  works  in  the  presence  of  the  sons  of  men. 

22.  And  let  them  sacrifice  the  sacrifices  of  praise,  and  declare  his 

works  vAth  rejoicings. 

17.  Fools  are  afflicted  on  account  of  the  way  of  their  trans- 
gression. He  comes  to  another  species  of  chastisement.  For 
as  he  observed  above,  that  those  were  given  over  to  captivity 
who  refused  to  yield  obedience  to  God,  so  now  he  teaches 
that  others  have  been  visited  by  God  with  disease,  as  the 
fruit  of  their  transgressions.  And  when  the  transgressor  shall 
find  that  it  is  God  who  is  administering  correction  to  him, 
this  will  pave  the  way  for  his  arriving  at  the  knowledge  of 
his  grace. 

He  denominates  those  fools,  who,  thoughtlessly  giving 
themselves  up  to  sensuality,  bring  destruction  upon  them- 

*  "  The  Psalmist  is  speaking  of  sick  men,  to  whom  the  most  desirable 
food  is  often  abhorrent." — Phillips. 

^  "  Ou,  fosses,  ou  pieges." — Fr.  marg.  "Pitfalls,  or  snares." 


254  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVII. 

selves.     The  sin  which  they  commit  is   not  the   result  of 
ignorance  and  error  only,  but  of  their  carnal  affections,  which 
depriving  them  of  proper  understanding,  cause  them  to  devise 
things  detrimental  to  themselves.     The  maxim,  that  the  fear 
of  God  is  wisdom,  must  never  be  lost  sight  of.     Hence  it 
plainly  follows,  that  they  who  shake  off  the  yoke  of  God,  and 
surrender  themselves   to  Satan  and  sin,  are  the  victims  of 
their  own  folly  and  fury.     And  as  constituting  a  principal 
ingredient  of  this  madness,  the  prophet  employs  the  term 
defection  or  transgression ;  and  subsequently  he  adds  iniquities ; 
because  it  happens  that  when  once  a  man  departs  from  God, 
from  that  moment  he  loses  all  self-control,  and  falls  from  one 
sin  into  another.     But  it  is  not  of  the  distempers  which  com- 
monly prevail  in  the  world  to  which  a  reference  is  made  in 
this  passage,  but  to  those  which  are  deemed  fatal,  and  in 
which  all  hope  of  life  is  abandoned,  so  that  the  grace  of  God 
becomes  the  more  conspicuous  when  deliverance  from  them 
is  obtained.     When  a  man  recovers  from  a  slight  indisposi- 
tion, he  does  not  so  plainly  discern  the  effects  of  God's  power, 
as  when  it  is  put  forth  in  a  wonderful  and  notable  manner  to 
bring  back  some  from  the  gates  of  death,  and  restores  them 
to  their   wonted  health   and  vigour.     He    says,    therefore, 
that  they  are  preserved  from   many   corruptions,    which  is 
equivalent  to  his  saying,  that  they  are  delivered  from  as  many 
deaths.     To  this  purport  are  the  following  words  of  the  pro- 
phet, in  which  he  says,  that  they  approach  the  gates  of  death, 
and  that  they  loathe  all  food.     We  have  already  adverted  to 
their  calling  upon  God,  namely,  that  when  men  are  reduced 
to  the  greatest  straits,  they,  by  thus  calling  upon  God  for  aid, 
acknowledge  that  they  would  be  undone  unless  he  wonder- 
fully interposed  for  their  deliverance. 

20.  He  sendeth  his  word.  Again,  in  saying  that  they  are 
delivered  from  destruction,  the  prophet  shows  that  he  is  here 
alluding  to  those  diseases  which,  in  the  opinion  of  men,  are  in- 
curable, and  from  which  few  are  delivered.  Besides,  he  contrasts 
God's  assistance  with  all  the  remedies  which  are  in  the  power 
of  man  to  apply  ;  as  if  he  should  say,  that  their  disease  having 
baffled  the  skill  of  earthly  physicians,  their  recovery  has  been 


PSALM  CVII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  255 

entirely  owing  to  tlie  exertion  of  God's  power.  It  is  proper 
also  to  notice  the  manner  in  which  their  recovery  is  effected  ; 
God  has  but  to  will  it,  or  to  speak  the  word,  and  instantly  all 
diseases,  and  even  death  itself,  are  expelled.  I  do  not  regard 
this  as  exclusively  referring  to  the  faithful,  as  many  exposi- 
tors do.  I  own,  indeed,  that  it  is  of  comparatively  little  con- 
sequence to  us  to  be  the  subjects  of  bodily  care,  if  our  souls 
still  remain  unsanctified  by  the  word  of  God ;  and  hence  it 
is  the  intention  of  the  prophet  that  we  consider  the  mercy  of 
God  as  extending  to  the  evil  and  unthankful.  The  meaning 
of  the  passage,  therefore,  is,  that  diseases  neither  come  upon 
us  by  chance,  nor  are  to  be  ascribed  to  natural  causes  alone, 
but  are  to  be  viewed  as  God's  messengers  executing  his  com- 
mands ;  so  that  we  must  believe  that  the  same  person  that 
sent  them  can  easily  remove  them,  and  for  this  purpose 
he  has  only  to  speak  the  word.  And  since  we  now  perceive 
the  drift  of  the  passage,  we  ought  to  attend  to  the  very 
appropriate  analogy  contained  in  it.  Corporeal  maladies 
are  not  removed  except  by  the  word  or  command  of  God, 
much  less  are  men's  souls  restored  to  the  enjoyment  of  spirit- 
ual life,  except  this  word  be  apprehended  by  faith. 

A7id  let  them  sacrifice.  This  clause  is  subjoined  by  way 
of  explanation,  the  more  strongly  to  express  how  God  is 
robbed  of  his  due,  if  in  the  matter  of  sacrifice  his  providence 
be  not  recognized.  Even  nature  itself  teaches  that  some 
kind  of  homage  and  reverence  is  due  to  God  ;  this  is  acknow- 
ledged by  the  heathens  themselves,  who  have  no  other  instruc- 
tor than  nature.  We  know  too,  that  the  practice  of  offering 
sacrifices  has  obtained  among  all  nations  ;  and  doubtless 
it  was  by  the  observance  of  this  ritual,  that  God  designed  to 
preserve  in  the  human  family  some  sense  of  piety  and  reli- 
gion. To  acknowledge  the  bounty  and  beneficence  of  God, 
is  the  most  acceptable  sacrifice  which  can  be  presented  to 
him  ;  to  this  subject,  therefore,  the  prophet  intends  to  recall 
the  attention  of  the  insensate  and  indifferent  portion  of 
men.  I  do  not  deny  that  there  may  be  also  an  allusion  to 
the  ceremonial  law ;  but  inasmuch  as  in  the  world  at  large 
sacrifices  formed  part  of  the  religious  exercises,  he  charges 
those  with  ingratitude,  who,  after  having  escaped  from  some 


256  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  OVII. 

imminent  peril,  forget  to  celebrate  the  praises  of  their  Great 
Deliverer. 

23.  They^  that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  trading  in  the  great 

waters, 

24.  See  the  works  of  Jehovah,  his  wonders  in  the  deep. 

25.  He  speaks,  and  raiseth  the  stormy  loind,   and    causeth  the 

hilloivs  thereof  to  tnount  on  high, 

26.  They  mount  up  to  the  heavens,  they  descend  into  the  deeps  ; 

their  soul  breaketh  because  of  trouble. 

27.  They  are   tossed  and  totter  like  a  drunken  man,   and  all 

their  senses  are  overwhelmed} 

28.  And  they  cry  to  Jehovah  in  their  straits,^  and  he  rescues  them 

from  their  troubles. 

29.  He  maketh  the  storm  a  calm,  so  that  the  waves  thereof  are 

still. 

30.  And  they  rejoice  because  they  are  calmed  ;  and  he  brings 

them  to  the  coast  which  they  desired. 

31.  Let  them  celebrate  the  mercy  of  Jehovah  in  his  presence,  and 

his  wonders  among  the  sons  of  men ; 

32.  And  let  them  exalt  him  in  the  congregation  of  the  people, 

and  praise  him  in  the  assembly  of  the  elders.^ 


^  This  psalm  is  distinguislied  for  beautiful  aud  inimitable  description. 
In  the  preceding  part  of  it,  the  weary  and  bewildered  traveller, — the  for- 
lorn and  wretched  captive,  shut  up  in  the  dungeon  and  bound  in  fetters, 
— the  sick  and  dying  man, — are  painted  in  the  most  striking  and  affect- 
ing manner.  In  this  verse  there  is  a  transition  to  ships,  and  the  dangers 
of  mariners  foundering  in  a  storm,  which  is  continued  to  the  close  of  the 
30th  verse.  This  has  often  been  admired  as  one  of  the  sublimest  de- 
scriptions of  a  sea-storm  anywhere  to  be  found,  either  in  the  Sacred  Writ- 
ings, or  in  profane  authors. 

2  Horsley  reads,  "  And  all  their  skill  is  drowned  ;"  "  that  is,"  says  he, 
"  their  skill  in  the  art  of  navigation  is  drowned;  a  metaphor  taken  from 
the  particular  danger  which  threatens  them."  Pliiiiips  reads,  And  all  their 
wisdom,  is  absorbed  or  swallowed  up  ;  which,  in  like  manner,  he  explains 
as  denoting  that  "  their  alarm  is  so  great,  that  their  knowledge  deserts 
them  ;  they  lose  all  self-possession,  and  become  entirely  unfit  for  man- 
aging the  ship." 

^  Instead  of  in  their  straits,  Phillips  reads,  from  their  prison-houses, 
places  of  confinement.  "  By  their  prison-houses,"  says  he,  "  we  under- 
stand the  ship  in  which  they  were  confined ;  to  be  liberated  from  which, 
aud  consequently  from  the  risk  of  a  watery  grave,  they  cried  unto  the 
Lord." 

*  "  OVi  the  people,  is  here  evidently  opposed  to  C3''JpT)  elders,  and  both 
signify  the  whole  assembly  or  congregation.  For,  among  the  Jews,  the 
doctors,  rulers  of  the  synagogue,  and  elders,  had  a  distinct  apartment 


PS-VLM  CVir.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  257' 

23.  They  that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships.  Here  we  have 
another  instance  of  God's  superintending  care  towards  man- 
kind pointed  out  to  us  by  the  prophet,  exemplified  in  the 
bringing  of  those  who  are  shipwrecked  to  the  harbour,  and 
this,  too,  as  if  he  had  raised  them  from  the  depth  and  dark- 
ness of  the  tomb,  and  brought  them  to  live  in  the  light  of 
day.  I  do  not  understand  what  is  here  said  about  those  who 
are  accustomed  to  navigate  the  ocean  seeing  the  wonders  of 
God,  as  referring  generally  to  the  many  wonderful  things 
with  which  it  abounds.  Such  persons  are  well  fitted  to  bear 
testimony  regarding  the  works  of  God,  because  they  there 
behold  more  vast  and  various  wonders  than  are  to  be  seen 
upon  earth.  But  it  appears  to  me  preferable  to  connect  this 
with  the  subsequent  context,  Avhere  the  prophet  is  his  own 
interpreter,  and  where  he  shows  how  suddenly  God  raises 
and  calms  the  tempest. 

The  sum  of  the  matter  is,  that  the  scope  of  the  passage 
is  to  point  out  that  the  lives  of  those  who  navigate  the  seas 
are  often  in  great  jeopardy  by  the  storms  which  they  en- 
counter; because,  as  often  as  the  ocean  heaves  and  is  agitated, 
and  the  billows  rise  and  rage,  so  often  does  death  stare  them 
in  the  face.  But  he  furnishes  us  with  a  still  more  vivid  pic- 
ture of  the  providence  of  God ;  for  in  telling  us,  that  the  sea 
does  not  of  its  own  accord  rise  into  a  tempest,  he  makes  use 
of  the  verb,  he  speaks,  intimating  that  the  word  and  provi- 
dence of  God  make  the  winds  blow,  to  agitate  the  sea.  True, 
indeed,  the  mariners  imagine  from  certain  phenomena,  that  a 
storm  is  approaching,  but  sudden  changes  proceed  only  from 
the  secret  appointment  of  God.  Therefore,  he  gives  not 
merely  a  historical  narrative  of  the  manner  in  which  squalls 
and  storms  arise,  but,  assuming  the  character  of  a  teacher,  be- 
gins with  the  cause  itself,  and  then  directs  to  the  imminent 
danger  with  which  the  tempest  is  fraught;  or  rather,  portrays, 
as  in  a  picture,  the  image  of  death,  in  order  that  the  goodness 
of  God  may  appear  the  more  conspicuous  when  the  tempest 

ft-om  the  people,  and  the  sei-vice  being  much  in  antiphona,  or  response, 
part  was  spoken  by  tliem  that  officiated  in  the  seat  of  the  elders,  and  the 
rest  by  the  multitude  of  common  men,  the  Hiutxi,  that  answered 
Amen  at  least,  at  their  giving  of  thanks." — Hammond. 

VOL.  TV.  R 


258  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVII. 

happily  ceases  without  any  loss  of  life.  They  mount  up,  says 
lie,  to  the  heavens,  they  descend  into  the  deeps ;  as  if  he  should  say, 
they  mount  up  into  the  air,  so  that  their  life  may  be  destroy- 
ed, and  then  they  tumble  down  towards  the  caverns  of  the 
ocean,  where  they  may  be  drowned.^  Next,  he  mentions  the 
fears  which  torment  them,  or  rather  which  may  deprive  them 
of  understanding ;  intimating  by  these  words,  that  however 
skilfully  mariners  may  steer  their  vessels,  they  may  happen 
to  be  deprived  of  their  senses;  and  being  thus  paralyzed,  they 
could  not  avail  themselves  of  aid,  were  it  even  at  hand.  For 
though  they  collect  all  their  tackling,  cast  their  sounding  line 
into  the  deep,  and  unfurl  their  sails  to  all  points,  yet  after 
making  every  attempt,  and  all  human  skill  is  baffled,  they 
give  themselves  up  to  the  mercy  of  wind  and  wave.  All  hope 
of  safety  being  cut  off,  no  farther  means  are  employed  by 
them.  And  now  that  all  human  aid  fails,  they  cry  unto  God 
for  deliverance,  which  is  a  convincing  evidence  that  they  had 
been  as  it  were  dead.^ 

29.  He  maketh  the  storm  a  calm.      A  profane  author,  in 

'  "  The  men  of  the  ship  go  up  to  heaven,  i.e.^  rise  higli  in  the  air  when 
the  wave  lifteth  up  the  ship,  and  afterwards,  because  of  the  wave  they 
descend  to  the  deep  ;  and  from  thus  ascending  and  descending,  the  soul 
of  the  men  of  the  ship  melteth  within  tliem  on  account  of  the  danger  in 
which  they  are  placed." — Kimchi. 

'  The  consternation  into  which  those  at  sea  are  thrown  in  a  dangerous 
storm,  and  tlieir  deliverance  by  God  in  answer  to  prayer,  is  so  beautifully 
described  in  the  well  known  and  admirable  hymn  of  Addison,  that  we 
sliall  take  tlie  liberty  to  quote  a  part  of  it : 

"  Think,  O  my  soul !  devoutly  think. 
How  with  affrighted  eyes, 
Thou  saw'st  the  wide-extended  deep, 
In  all  its  horrors  rise. 

"  Confusion  dwelt  on  every  face, 
And  fear  in  every  heart ; 
When  waves  on  waves,  and  gulfs  on  gulfs, 
O'ercame  the  pilot's  art. 

"Yet  then,  from  all  my  griefs,  O  Lord  ! 
Thy  mercy  set  me  free; 
Whilst  in  the  confidence  of  prayer, 
My  soul  took  hold  on  Thee. 

"For  though  in  dreadful  whirls  avc  liiing 
High  in  the  broken  wave, 
I  knew  Thou  wert  not  slow  to  lic'r, 
Nor  impotent  to  save. 


rSALM  evil.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  259 

narrating  the  history  of  such  an  event,  would  have  said,  that 
the  winds  were  hushed,  and  the  raging  billows  were  calmed ; 
but  the  Spirit  of  God,  by  this  change  of  the  storm  Into  a 
calm,  places  the  providence  of  God  as  presiding  over  all; 
thereby  meaning,  that  it  was  not  by  human  agency  that  this 
violent  commotion  of  the  sea  and  wind,  which  threatened  to 
subvert  the  frame  of  the  world,  was  so  suddenly  stilled.  When, 
therefore,  the  sea  Is  agitated,  and  bolls  up  in  terrific  fury,  as 
if  wave  were  contending  with  wave,  whence  is  it  that  in- 
stantly it  is  calm  and  peaceful,  but  that  God  restrains  the 
raging  of  the  billows,  the  contention  of  which  was  so  awful, 
and  makes  the  bosom  of  the  deep  as  smooth  as  a  mirror?^ 
Having  spoken  of  their  great  terror,  he  proceeds  next  to 
mention  their  joy,  so  that  their  ingratitude  may  appear  the 
more  striking,  if  they  forget  their  remarkable  dellvei'ancc. 
For  they  are  not  in  want  of  a  monitor,  having  been  abun- 
dantly instructed  by  the  storm  itself,  and  by  the  calm  which 
ensued,  that  their  lives  were  in  the  hand  and  under  the  pro- 
tection of  God.  Moreover,  he  informs  them  that  this  is  a 
species  of  gratitude  which  deserves  not  only  to  be  acknow- 
ledged privately,  or  to  be  mentioned  in  the  family,  but  that 
it  should  be  praised  and  magnified  In  all  places,  even  in  the 
great  assemblies.  He  makes  specific  mention  of  the  elders, 
intimating  that  the  more  wisdom  and  experience  a  person 

"  The  storm  was  laid,  the  winds  retir'd, 
Obedient  to  thy  will ; 
The  sea  that  roai-'d  at  thy  command, 
At  thy  command  was  still !  " 

^  Among  the  circmnstances  selected  by  the  prophet  in  this  striking 
description  of  a  storm  at  sea,  God's  agency,  both  in  raising  and  calming 
it,  is  not  to  be  overlooked.  He  is  introduced  as  first  causing,  by  His  om- 
nipotent command,  the  tempest  to  sweep  over  the  ocean,  whose  billows 
are  thus  made  to  rise  in  furious  agitation  mountains  high :  and,  again,  as 
hushing  the  winds  into  a  calm,  and  allaying  the  agitation  of  the  waves. 
The  description  would  be  utterly  mutilated  were  the  special  reference  to 
the  Divine  power  in  such  phenomena  omitted.  "  How  much  more  com- 
fortable, as  well  as  rational,  is  the  system  of  the  Psalmist,  than  the  Pagan 
scheme  in  Virgil,  and  other  poets,  where  one  deity  is  represented  as 
raising  a  storm,  and  another  as  laying  it.  Were  we  only  to  consider  the 
sublime  in  this  piece  of  poetry,  what  can  be  nobler  than  the  idea  it  gives 
us  of  the  Supreme  Being,  thus  raising  a  tumult  among  the  elements,  and 
recovering  them  out  of  their  confusion,  thus  troubling  and  becalming 
nature  T'—Spcclator,  No.  485. 


260  C0M31ENTAEY  UPON  PSALM  CVII. 

has,  the  more  capable  is  be  of  listening  to,  and  being  a  wit- 
ness  of,  these  praises. 

33.  He  turneth  rivers  into  a  wilderness,  and  springs  of  water 

into  dryness  ; 

34.  A  fruitfid  land  into  saltness,^  because  of  the  loickedness  of 

those  who  dwell  in  it. 

35.  He  turneth  the  desert  into  a  pool  of  water,  and  the  land  of 

barrenness  into  springs  of  water. 

36.  And  there  he  maketh  the  hungry  to  dwell,  that  they  may  build 

a  city  of  habitation  ; 

37.  And  sow  fields,  and  plant  vineyards,  and  eat  the  fruit  of 

the  increase. 

38.  And  he  blesses  them,  and  they  midtiply  greatly  ;   and   he 

maketh  not  their  cattle  to  decrease. 

39.  Afterwards    they  are  lessened  and  dejected,    by  reason  of 

anguish,  misery,  and  sorrow. 

40.  He  poureth  contempt  upon  princes,  and  maketh  them  to  wander 

in  a  wilderness,  where  there  is  no  way.^ 

41.  And   he  raiseth  the  afflicted  out  of  misery,  and  maketh  him 

families  like  a  fiock. 

33.  He  turneth  rivers  into  a  wilderness.  Here  then  is  an 
account  of  changes  which  it  would  be  the  height  of  folly  to 
attribute  to  chance.  Fruitful  lands  become  unfruitful,  and 
barren  lands  assume  the  new  aspect  of  freshness  and  fruitful- 
ness.  And  how  happens  it  that  one  district  becomes  sterile,  and 
another  becomes  fat  and  fertile,  contrary  to  what  they  were 
wont  to  be,  but  because  that  God  pours  out  his  wrath  upon 
the  inhabitants  of  the  one,  by  taking  his  blessing  from  them, 
and  renders  the  other  fruitful  to  feed  the  hungry  ?     It  may 


'  "  T\Thl^i  "'^0  saUness,  or  barrenness.  The  word  has  here  the  force  of 
sterility.  Pliny  says,  '  Omnislocus  in  quoreperitursal,  sterilis  est,nihilque 
gignit.' — Hist.  Nat.  Lib.  xxxi.  cap.  7.  Allusion  is  here  made  to  the  de- 
struction of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  '  The  whole  land  thereof  is  brimstone, 
and  salt,  and  burning;  that  it  is  not  sown,  nor  beareth,  nor  any  grass 
gi'oweth  therein,  like  the  overthrow  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  which  the 
Lord  overthrew  in  his  anger,  and  in  his  wrath,'  (Dent.  xxix.  23.)  The 
Chaldee  has  paraphrased  the  verse  as  follows:  'The  laud  of  Israel  which 
bore  fniit  he  hath  laid  waste  as  Sodom,  which  was  overturned  on  ac- 
count of  the  wickedness  of  its  inhabitants.'  " — Phillips. 

2  The  words  of  this  verse  are  found  in  Job  xii.  21,  24,  from  which  they 
are  supposed,  with  great  probability,  to  have  been  borrowed. 


PSALM  CVIT.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  2G1 

be  ascribed  to  the  thinness  of  the  population,  that  many  parts 
of  Asia  and  Greece,  once  exceedingly  fruitful,  now  lie  uncul- 
tivated and  unproductive ;  but  we  must  ascribe  to  the  pro- 
vidence of  God,  which  the  prophet  praises,  the  well  authenti- 
cated fact,  that  in  some  places  the  earth  that  was  fruitful  has 
now  become  barren  and  parched,  while  others  are  beginning 
to  be  fertile. 

It  is,  however,  not  sufficient  merely  to  observe,  that  these 
wonderful  revolutions  of  the  surface  of  the  earth  are  the 
result  of  God's  overruling  purpose,  unless  we  also  observe, 
in  the  second  place,  what  the  prophet  does  not  omit,  that  the 
earth  is  cursed  by  him  on  account  of  the  iniquity  of  its  inhabit- 
ants, who  prove  themselves  to  be  undeserving  of  being  so  amply 
sustained  by  his  bountiful  hand.  He  has  put  pools  and 
springs  of  water  for  fields  or  countries  where  there  is  an 
abundance  of  water ;  because  moisture  is  required  to  nourish 
the  plants  by  which  fruit  is  produced.  The  term  saltness  is 
employed  metaphorically,  inasmuch  as  there  is  nothing 
more  sterile  than  salt ;  hence  that  saying  of  Christ's,  "  If  the 
salt  have  lost  its  saltness,  what  further  purpose  will  it  serve?" 
(Mark  ix.  50,)  not  even  indeed  for  barrenness.  And,  conse- 
quently, when  men  designed  to  doom  any  place  to  remain 
unproductive,  they  usually  sowed  it  with  salt.  And  probably 
it  is  in  allusion  to  this  ancient  custom,  that  the  prophet  says 
that  the  land  was  covered  with  salt. 

35.  He  turneth  the  desert  into  a  pool  of  water.  This  change, 
in  contrast  with  the  former,  places  the  miraculous  power  of 
God  in  a  more  luminous  position.  Because,  were  the  fields 
ceasing  to  be  so  productive  as  in  former  times,  men  of  the 
world,  as  was  common  of  old,  would  attribute  this  to  the  fre- 
quent crops  which  exhausted  their  productive  power.  But 
whence  is  it  that  parched  grounds  become  so  fruitful,  that  one 
would  almost  say  that  the  atmosphere,  as  well  as  the  nature 
of  the  soil,  had  undergone  a  change,  unless  it  be  that  God 
hath  there  put  forth  a  wonderful  display  of  his  power  and 
goodness  ?  Wherefore,  the  prophet  very  justly  says,  that 
the  deserts  were  turned  into  pools  of  icater,  so  that  populous 
cities  may  rise  up  in  waste  and  uncultivated  places,  where 


262  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVII. 

once  there  was  not  a  single  cottage.  For  it  is  as  improbable 
that  the  nature  of  the  soil  is  changed,  as  that  the  course  of  the 
sun  and  stars  is  changed.  The  clause,  the  hungry  are  Jilled, 
may  mean,  either  that  they  themselves,  after  considerable 
privations,  have  got  what  may  supply  their  need,  or  that 
those  poor  persons,  living  in  a  country  where  they  cannot 
longer  find  daily  bread,  being  constrained  to  leave  it,  and  to 
seek  a  new  place  of  abode,  are  there  bountifully  supplied  by 
God.  I  am  rather  disposed  to  think,  that  this  clause  refers 
to  what  frequently  occurs,  namely,  that  the  famishing,  whose 
wants  the  world  refuses  to  supply,  and  who  are  expatriated, 
are  comfortably  accommodated  in  these  desert  places,  where 
God  blesses  them  with  abundance.  The  passage  which  I 
have  translated,  fruit  of  the  increase,  is,  by  not  a  few  Hebrew 
expositors,  considered  as  a  repetition  of  two  synonymous 
terms,  and  are  for  supplying  a  copulative  conjunction,  making 
it,  fruit  and  increase.  But  it  was  rather  the  intention  of  the 
prophet  to  refer  to  fruit  yielded  annually;  as  if  he  said,  the 
fertility  of  these  regions  is  not  temporary,  or  only  for  a  few 
years,  it  is  perennial.  For  HI^^I^Hj  tebuaoth,  is  the  term 
which,  in  the  Hebrew,  denotes  full-grown  fruit  annually  pro- 
duced by  the  earth.  And  when  he  says,  that  the  neio  settlers 
sow  and  ■plant,  he  gives  us  to  understand,  that,  prior  to  their 
arrival,  cultivation  was  unknown  in  these  places,  and,  conse- 
quently, in  becoming  so  unusually  fertile,  they  assumed  a 
totally  different  aspect.  And,  in  fine,  he  adds,  that  it  was 
entirely  owing  to  the  Divine  blessing  that  those  Avho  were  once 
oppressed  with  poverty  and  want  are  now  daily  increasing  in 
the  good  things  of  this  life. 

39.  Afterwards  they  are  lessened.  Ere  I  enter  upon  the 
consideration  of  the  truths  contained  in  this  verse,  I  must 
make  some  brief  verbal  observations.  Some  make  the  word 
"n^iy?  otser,  to  signify  tyranny,  and  certainly  1^^,  atsar, 
does  signify  to  hear  rule.  But  since  it  is  used  metaphorically 
for  anguish,  it  appears  to  me  that  this  is  the  meaning  which 
is  most  accordant  with  the  tenor  of  the  passage.  The  last 
two  words  of  the  verse  may  be  read  as  in  the  nominative 
case,  as  I  have  rendered  them,  or  in  the  genitive,  the  anguish 


PSALM  CVir.  THE  BOOK  OF  TSALMS.  263 

of  misery  and  sorrow.     This  lection  appears  to  me  preferable, 
through  the  anguish  of  misery,^  and  through  sorrow. 

We  come  now  to  notice  shortly  the  main  things  In  the 
passage.      And  as   we   had  formerly  a    description  of  the 
chano^es  which  these  districts  underwent  in  relation  to  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  so  now  we  are  informed  that  mankind  do 
not  for  ever  continue  in  the  same  condition ;  because  they 
both  decrease  in  number,  and  lose  their  place  and  property 
by  being  reduced  by  wars  or  by  civil  commotions,  or  by  other 
casualties.     Tlierefore,  whether  theyare  wasted  by  the  pes- 
tilence, or  are  defeated  in  battle,  or  are  cut  off  by  intestine 
broils,  it  is  manifest  that  both  their  I'ank  and  condition  un- 
dergo alteration.     And  what  is  the  occasion  of  this  change, 
but  that  God  withdraws  his  grace,  which  hitherto  formed 
the  hidden  spring  from  which  all  their  prosperity  issued  ? 
And  as  there  are  a  thousand  casualties  by  which  cities  may 
be  rained,  the  prophet  brings  forward  one  species  of  change 
of  all  others  the  most  palpable  and  remarkable.     And  since 
God's  hand  is  not  observed  in  that  which  relates  to  persons 
living  in  comparative  obscurity,  he  brings  into  view  princes 
themselves,  whose  name  and  fame  will  not  permit  any  me- 
morable event  which  befalls  them  to  remain  in  obscurity. 
For   it  seems  that  the  world  is  made  on  their     account. 
When  God,  therefore,  hurls  them  from  their  lofty  estate,  then 
men,  aroused  as  it  were  from  their  slumber,  are  prepared  to 
regard  his  judgments.     Here,  too,  the  mode  of  address  which 
is  employed  must  be  attended  to  ;  in  saying,  that  God  -poureth 
contempt  upon  p?inces,  it  is  as  if  it  was  his  pleasure,  so  long  as 
they  retained  their  dignit}^,  that  honour  and  respect  should 
be  paid    to  them.     The  words  of  Daniel   are  well  known, 
"  O  king,  God  hath  put  the  fear  of  thee  in  the  very  fowls  of 
the  heaven  and  the  beasts  of  the  earth,"  (Dan.  ii.  38.)     And 
assuredly,  though  princes  may  clothe  themselves  Avith  power, 
yet  that  inward  honour  and  majesty  which  God  has  conferred 
upon  them,   is  a  greater  safeguard  than  any   human    arm. 
Nor  even  would  a  single  village  holdout  for  the  space  of  three 
days,  did  not  God,  by  his  invisible  and  invincible  agency,  jmt 

'  "  Par  aiigoisse  de  mal  et  par  doiileur." — Ft. 


2G4  COMMENTAliY  UPON  PSALM  CVII. 

a  restraint  upon  the  hearts  of  men.  Hence,  whenever  God 
renders  princes  contemptible,  their  magnificent  power  must 
of  necessity  be  subverted.  This  is  a  fact  corroborated  by- 
history,  that  mighty  potentates,  who  have  been  the  terror  and 
dread  of  the  whole  world,  when  once  denuded  of  their  dignity 
and  power,  have  become  the  sport  even  of  their  own  depend- 
ants. And  inasmuch  as  such  a  striking  revolution  as  this 
should  be  regarded  as  a  wonderful  display  of  God's  power, 
yet  such  is  the  obtuseness  of  our  minds,  that  we  will  not 
acknowledge  his  overruling  providence.  As  a  contrast  to 
these  reverses,  the  prophet  afterwards  shows,  that  the  poor 
and  ignoble  are  exalted,  and  their  houses  increased,  and  that 
those  who  were  held  in  no  estimation,  suddenly  increase  in 
wealth  and  power.  In  these  things  men  would  assuredly 
recognize  the  providence  of  God,  were  it  not  that  the  perver- 
sity of  their  minds  rendered  them  insensate. 

42.  The  righteous  shall  see  that,  and  shall  rejoice  :  and  all  ini- 

quity^ shall  stop  her  mouth. ^ 

43.  Whosoever  is  xvise,  so  as  to  observe  these  things,  even  they 

shall  understand  the  loving -kindness  of  Jehovah. 

42.  The  righteous  shall  see  that,  and  shall  rejoice.  The  pro- 
phet now  draws  the  conclusion,  that  so  many  evident  tokens 
of  God's  superintending  and  overruling  providence  could  not 
transpire  before  the  righteous  without  attracting  their  notice, 
and  thai  their  vision  being  illuminated  by  faith,  these  scenes 
are  contemplated  by  them  with  unfeigned  delight ;  while  the 
wicked  remain  perplexed  and  mute.  For  he  very  judiciously 
makes  a  distinction  between  these  two  classes  of  persons.  In 
whatever  manner  the  wicked  may  be  constrained  to  recognize 
God  as  the  supreme  ruler  of  the  universe,  nevertheless,  in 
seeing  they  see  not,  and  derive  nothing  from  the  sight,  ex- 
cept that  their  conduct  is  rendered  the  more  inexcusable. 


1  "  Iniquity  is  here  personified,  and  denotes  the  iyiiquitous ;  but  the 
abstract  is  more  poetical." — Dr  Geddes. 

2  The  same  critic  reads,  "  While  all  iniquity  shall  be  tongue-tied." 
"  Tongue-tied"  says  he,  "  literally  mouth-shut:  which  perhaps  might  be 
not  improperly  vernacularized." 


PSALM  CVII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  2G5 

But  the  righteous  are  not  only  able  to  form  a  good  and 
soundjudgment  of  these  events,  they  also  spontaneously  open 
their  eyes  to  contemplate  the  equity,  goodness,  and  wisdom 
of  God,  the  sight  and  knowledge  of  which  are  refreshing  to 
them.  For  the  joy  which  they  experience  in  this  exercise  is 
a  pledge  that  their  thus  observing  these  things  was  the  spon- 
taneous effusion  of  their  hearts.  With  regard  to  the  despisers 
of  God,  it  is  not  meant  that  they  are  so  deeply  impressed  as 
truly  to  acknowledge  that  the  world  is  under  his  superintend- 
ing care,  but  that  they  are  merely  so  far  kept  in  check  as  not 
to  presume  to  deny  the  existence  of  that  providence  as  their 
natural  inclination  would  lead  them  to  do  ;  or,  at  least,  that 
they  meet  with  a  vigorous  repulse  whenever  they  attempt  to 
speak  in  opposition  to  it.  Although  the  judgments  of  God 
are  before  their  eyes,  yet  is  their  understanding  so  darkened, 
that  they  cannot  perceive  the  clear  light.  And  this  manner 
of  speaking  is  more  energetic  than  if  it  had  been  said,  that 
the  wicked  themselves  are  become  mute.  In  fact,  they  do 
not  cease  from  murmuring  against  God's  dispensations  of 
providence ;  for  we  see  with  what  arrogance  and  contempt 
they  set  themselves  in  opposition  to  our  faith,  and  have  the 
hardihood  to  pour  forth  horrid  blasphemies  against  God. 
This  does  not  impeach  the  veracity  of  the  prophet's  state- 
ment, that  the  mouth  of  wickedness  is  stopped,  because,  in  fact, 
the  more  proudly  and  violently  they  assail  God,  the  more 
notorious  does  their  impiety  appear.  Besides,  the  joy  here 
mentioned  arises  from  this,  that  there  is  nothing  more  calcu- 
lated to  increase  our  faith,  than  the  knowledge  of  the  pro- 
vidence of  God ;  because,  without  it,  we  would  be  harassed 
with  doubts  and  fears,  being  uncertain  whether  or  not  the 
world  was  governed  by  chance.  For  this  reason,  it  follows 
that  those  who  aim  at  the  subversion  of  this  doctrine,  depriv- 
ing the  children  of  God  of  true  comfort,  and  vexing  their 
minds  by  unsettling  their  faith,  forge  for  themselves  a  hell 
upon  earth.  For  what  can  be  more  awfully  tormenting  than 
to  be  constantly  racked  with  doubt  and  anxiety  ?  And  we 
will  never  be  able  to  arrive  at  a  calm  state  of  mind  until  we 
are  taught  to  repose  with  implicit  confidence  in  the  px'ovidence 
of  God.     Moreover,  it  is  declared  in  this  verse,  that  God 


2QQ  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CVII. 

manifests  his  goodness  to  all  men  without  exception,  and  yet 
there  are  comparatively  few  of  them  who  benefit  by  it. 
Wherefore,  when  he  formerly  called  upon  all  to  celebrate  the 
goodness  of  God,  it  was  in  order  that  the  ingratitude  of  the 
majority  of  them  might  the  more  plainly  appear. 

43.  Whosoever  is  wise^  so  as  to  ohserve  these  things.  We  are 
now  informed  that  men  begin  to  be  wise  when  they  turn 
theirwhole  attention  to  the  contemplation  of  the  works  of  God, 
and  that  all  others  besides  are  fools.  For  however  much 
they  may  pique  themselves  upon  their  superior  acuteness 
and  subtilty,  all  this  is  of  no  avail  so  long  as  they  shut  their 
eyes  against  the  light  which  is  presented  to  them.  In  em- 
ploying this  interrogatory  form  of  address,  he  indirectly  ad- 
verts to  that  false  persuasion  which  prevails  in  the  world,  at 
the  very  time  when  the  most  daring  heaven-despiser  esteems 
himself  to  be  the  wisest  of  men  ;  as  if  he  should  say,  that  all 
those  who  do  not  properly  observe  the  providence  of  God, 
will  be  found  to  be  nothing  but  fools.  This  caution  is  the 
more  necessary,  since  we  find  that  some  of  the  greatest  of 
philosophers  Avere  so  mischievous  as  to  devote  their  talents 
to  obscure  and  conceal  the  providence  of  God,  and,  entirely 
overlooking  his  agency,  ascribed  all  to  secondary  causes. 
At  the  head  of  these  was  Aristotle,  a  man  of  genius  and 
learning ;  but  being  a  heathen,  whose  heart  was  perverse  and 
depraved,  it  was  his  constant  aim  to  entangle  and  perplex 
God's  overruling  providence  by  a  variety  of  wild  specula- 
tions ;  so  much  so,  that  it  may  with  too  much  truth  be  said, 
that  he  employed  his  naturally  acute  powers  of  mind  to  ex- 
tinguish all  light.  Besides,  the  prophet  not  only  condemns 
the  insensate  Epicureans,  whose  insensibility  was  of  the  basest 
character,  but  he  also  informs  us  that  a  blindness,  still  greater 
and  more  detestable,  was  to  be  found  among  these  great  phi- 
losophers themselves.  By  the  term,  ohserve,  he  informs  us, 
that  the  bare  apprehension  of  the  Avorks  of  God  is  not  enough, 
— they  must  be  carefully  considered  in  order  that  the  know- 
ledge of  them  may  be  deliberately  and  maturely  digested.  And, 
therefore,  that  it  may  be  engraven  upon  our  hearts,  we  must 
make  these  works  the  theme  of  our  attentive  and  constant 


PSALM  CVIII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  '  2G7 

meditation.  When  the  prophet  says,  Whosoever  is  wise,  even 
they  shall  understand,  the  change  of  the  singular  into  the 
plui'al  number  is  beautifully  appropriate.  By  the  one  he 
tacitly  complains  of  the  fewness  of  those  who  observe  the 
judgments  of  God ;  as  if  he  should  say,  How  seldom  do  we 
meet  with  a  person  who  truly  and  attentively  considers  the 
works  of  God !  Then  he  adverts  to  the  fact  of  their  being  so 
visibly  before  all,  that  it  is  impossible  that  men  could  over- 
look them,  were  it  not  that  their  minds  are  perverted  by  their 
own  wickedness.  And  if  any  person  be  disposed  to  inquire 
how  it  comes  to  pass  that  the  prophet,  after  treating  of  the 
judgments  and  severity  of  God,  now  makes  mention  of  his 
loving-kindness,  I  answer,  that  his  loving-kindness  shines 
most  conspicuously,  and  occupies  a  very  prominent  place  in 
all  that  he  does ;  for  he  is  naturally  prone  to  loving-kindness, 
by  which  also  he  draws  us  to  himself. 


PSALM  CVIII. 

\  A  Song  or  Psalm  of  David. 

1 .  My  heart  is  prepared,  O  God  !  nxy  heart  is  prepared  ;  I  u-ill 

sing  and  give  praise,  even  icith  my  glory. 

2.  AivaJce,  psaltery  and  harp :  I  will  arise  at  break  of  day. 

3.  I  will  praise  thee,  0  Jehovah !  among  the  people;  and  sing 

unto  thee  among  the  nations  : 

4.  Because  thy  goodness  is  great  above  the  heavens,  and  thy 

truth  unto  the  clouds. 

5.  Be  thou,  0  God  I    exalted  above  the  heavens;  and  thy  glory 

above  all  the  earth: 
G.    That  thy  chosen  may  be  set  free,  save  me  by  thy  right  hand, 
and  hear  me. 

7.  God  has  spoken  in  his  holiness;  I  will  rejoice,  I  will  divide 

Shechem,  and  measure  the  valley  of  Succoth. 

8.  Gilead  is  mine;  Manasseh  is  mine;  Ephraim  is  the  strength  of 

my  head:  Judah  is  my  lawgiver? 

1  "  On,  nion  due." — Fr.  marg.     "  Or,  my  leader." 


268  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

9.  Moah  is  the  pot  of  my  washing  ;  over  Edom  I  icill  cast  my 
shoe;  over  Philistina  I  will  triumph' 

10.  Who  will  bring  me  into  the  fortified  city  ?  who  will  bring  me 

even  unto  Edom  ? 

11.  Wilt  not  thou;  0  God!  who  hadst  repulsed  us  ?  and  wentest 

not  out,  0  God!  with  our  arm,ies  ? 

12.  Ajford  us  help  out  of  our  tribulations;  because  the  help  of 

man  is  vain. 

13.  Through  God  we  vnll  do  valiantly,  and  he  shall  trample 

under  foot  our  enemies. 

Because  this  psalm  is  composed  of  parts  taken  from  the  fifty-seventh 
and  sixtieth  psalms,  it  would  be  superfluous  to  repeat,  in  this  place, 
what  we  have  already  said  by  way  of  exposition  in  those  psalms.^ 


PSALM  CIX. 

This  psalm  consists  of  three  parts.  It  begins  with  a  complaint ;  next 
follows  an  enumeration  of  various  imprecations ;  and  then  comes  a 
prayer  with  an  expression  of  true  gratitude.  And  although  David 
here  complains  of  the  injuries  which  he  sustained,  yet,  as  he  was  a 
typical  character,  everything  that  is  expressed  in  the  psalm  must  pro- 
perly be  applied  to  Christ,  the  Head  of  the  Church,  and  to  all  the  faith- 
ful, inasmuch  as  they  are  his  members  ;  so  that  when  unjustly  treated 
and  tormented  by  their  enemies,  they  may  apply  to  God  for  help,  to 
whom  vengeance  belongs.^  ♦ 

^  "The  108th  psalm  is  altogether  made  up  of  extracts  from  the  others  ; 
its  first  part  being  identical  (with  the  exceptions  of  a  few  slight  varia- 
tions) with  the  third  division  of  the  57th  ;  its  second,  with  the  second 
division  of  the  60th.  And  both  these  borrowed  parts  are  discriminated, 
both  in  the  57th  and  60th  psalms,  from  the  rest  of  the  context  by  the 
word  Selah.  This  is  a  remarkable  fact,  and  illustrates  strongly  one  of 
the  functions  of  the  Diapsalma.  These  parts  were,  then,  to  a  certain 
degree,  regarded  as  distinct  compositions,  which  occasionally  were  dis- 
jointed from  their  original  context ;  the  very  change  of  sentiment  and 
strain,  which  originated  the  word  IDiapsalma,  sanctioning  such  an  oc- 
casional practice."—  Jebb's  Literal  Version  of  ike  Booh  of  Psalms,  with 
Dissertations,  vol.  ii.  p.  109. 

^  From  the  express  application  of  a  part  of  this  awfully  prophetic  poem 
to  Judas  by  the  Apostle  Peter,  (Acts  i.  20,)  we  learn  that  the  punish- 
ment and  sufferings  of  that  unhappy  man  form  its  subject.    It  has  also 


rSALM  CIX.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  269 

^  To  the  Chief  Musician,  a  Psalm  of  David. 

1.  0  God  of  my  praise!  be  not  silent; 

2.  Because  the  mouth  of  the  wicked  and  the  mouth  of  deceit  are 

opened  upon  me  :   they  have  spoken  against  me  with  the 
tongue  of  guile. 

3.  A7id  they  have  encompassed  me  with  the  words  of  hatred,  and 

have  contended  with  me  without  cause. 

4.  On  account  of  my  love  they  have  been  opposed  to  me ;  but  I 

gave  myself  to  prayer. 

5.  They  rendered  to  me  evil  for  good,  and  hatred  for  love. 

1.  O  God  of  my  praise !  be  not  silent.  In  these  words,  which 
may  be  considered  as  an  introduction  to  the  psahn,  David 
declares  that  he  neither  could  find  nor  would  desire  any 
other  than  God  to  stand  forward  in  vindication  of  the  inte- 
grity of  his  heart.  For  in  denominating  him  the  God  of 
his  praise,  he  intrusts  to  him  the  vindication  of  his  innocence, 
in  the  face  of  the  calumnies  by  which  he  was  all  but  univer- 
sally assailed.  Some  are  of  opinion  that  this  clause  is  to  be 
understood  as  referring  to  David's  having  actually  declared 
that  he  himself  was  the  publisher  of  God's  praises ;  but 
the  scope  of  the  passage  is  opposed  to  such  an  interpretation  ; 
for  w^e  find  David  appealing  to  the  judgment  of  God  against 
the  unjust  and  cruel  hatred  to  which  he  was  subjected  in  the 
world.  There  is  in  the  words  an  implied  contrast,  because, 
when  calumny  is  rampant,  innocence  is  duly  and  properly 
estimated  by  none  but  God  only.  The  meaning  of  the  pass- 
age is  this :  Lord,  although  I  may  be  regarded  as  the  vilest 

been  justly  viewed  as  shadowing  forth,  not  merely  the  fate  of  the  wretched 
Iscariot,  and  his  immediate  associates,  but  the  dreadful  and  justly- 
merited  destiny  of  the  Jewish  polity  and  nation.  "  The  first  five  verses 
of  this  psalm,"  says  Horsley,  "  clearly  describe  the  treatment  which  our 
Lord  met  with  from  the  Jews.  The  curses  that  follow  as  clearly  de- 
scribe the  judgments  which  have  fallen  upon  that  miserable  people.  So 
that  the  whole  is  a  prediction  of  his  sufferings,  and  of  their  punishment, 
delivered  in  the  form  of  complaint  and  imprecation."  Whatever,  there- 
fore, may  be  said  as  to  the  primary  reference  of  the  psalm  to  the  lamen- 
tations and  denunciations  poured  forth  by  David,  in  consequence  of  the 
perfidy  and  cruelty  of  some  inveterate  foe,  Christ  must  be  principally 
understood  as  the  person  who  gives  utterance  to  these  lamentations  and 
denunciations,  occasioned  by  the  injurious  treatment  he  received  from 
his  betrayer  and  murderers. — See  Appendix. 


270  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

of  the  vile,  and  exposed  to  the  reproach  of  the  world,  yet 
thou  wilt  maintain  the  uprightness  of  my  character,  and  on 
this  account  thou  wilt  also  set  forth  my  praise.!  This  inter- 
pretation corresponds  well  with  that  which  is  immediately 
suhjo'ined,  be  not  silent.  For  when  we  are  overwhelmed  by 
the  aspersions  of  the  wicked,  it  would  surely  be  improper  on 
the  part  of  God,  who  is  the  witness  of  our  innocence,  to  re- 
main silent.  At  the  same  time,  what  I  formerly  stated  must 
not  be  forgotten,  that  while  David  mourns  over  the  injuries 
which  he  in  particular  was  suffering,  yet,  in  his  own  person, 
he  represented  Christ,  and  the  whole  body  of  his  Church. 
From  this  we  are  taught,  when  we  are  subjected  to  every 
species  of  indignity  by  men,  to  repose  with  perfect  con- 
fidence under  the  protection  of  God  alone.  No  man,  how- 
ever, can,  with  sincerity  of  heart,  siirrender  himself  entirely 
into  the  hand  of  God,  except  he  has  first  formed  the  resolu- 
tion of  treating  with  contempt  the  reproaches  of  the  world, 
and  is  also  fully  persuaded  that  he  has  God  as  the  defender 
of  his  cause. 

2.  Because  the  mouth  of  the  loicked.  David  here  very 
plainly  declares,  that  he  was  the  more  solicitous  to  obtain  help 
from  God,  in  consequence  of  justice  not  being  found  among 
men.  And  though  it  is  probable  that  he  was  rashly  and 
furiously  assailed,  nevertheless,  he  complains  that  the  mouth 
of  deceit  and  fraud  had  been  opened  against  him,  and  that  he 
was  surrounded  with  false  tongues.  Whence,  to  those  who 
were  ignorant  of  his  real  situation,  there  would  appear  to  be 
some  plausible  pretext  for  his  being  loaded  with  reproaches. 


^  The  Septuagint  and  Vulgate  attach  the  same  meaning  to  the  Psahii- 
isL's  prayer.  The  reading  of  the  former  being,  'Xl  @sog,  rvjv  eii'unxii/ 
/iiov  f^n  '7roi,i)oiaio)'7rij(x-fig,  and  that  of  the  latter,  "  Deus,  laudera  mcam 
ne  tacuens,"  0  God!  be  not  silent  of  vv/  praise.  The  phrase,  as  it 
stands  in  the  Hebrew  text,  is,  however,  capable  of  a  double  signification  ; 
for  it  may  refer  either  to  God's  praising  David,  or  to  David's  praising  God. 
In  the  one  case,  it  will  intimate  that  God  was  the  object  ol  his  praise  ; 
in  which  sense  it  is  said,  Deut.  x.  21,  "  He  is  thy  praise,  and  lie  is  thy 
God,"  and  will  mean,  Be  not  silent  to  refuse,  neglect  not  my  praising  of 
thee.  In  the  other  sense  the  prayer  is,  as  our  author  states,  Whilst 
others  reproach  me,  be  not  silent  of  my  praise,  be  thou  my  advocate, 
plead  my  causes,  proclaim  and  justify  my  innocence. 


rSALM  CIX.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  271 

SO  much  so  indeed,  that  he  would  not  be  able  to  evade  the 
charge  of  criminality. 

3.  And  they  have  encompassed  me.  He  complains,  that 
from  all  quarters  he  was  assailed  with  the  most  hostile  and 
abusive  epithets,  and  that,  too,  most  undeservedly.  And, 
under  a  beautiful  similitude,  he  shows  that  the  tongues  of 
his  enemies  were  so  full  of  deadly  poison,  that  it  was  harder 
for  him  to  endure  their  attacks  than  that  of  a  great  army, 
and  the  more  so  that  he  merited  no  such  treatment  at 
their  hands.  This  species  of  warfare,  to  the  exercise  of  which 
God  very  frequently  summons  his  children,  must  be  cai'cfully 
considered  by  us.  For  though  Satan  may  assault  them  with 
open  violence,  yet  as  he  is  the  father  of  lies,  he  endeavours, 
by  the  amazing  dexterity  which  he  possesses  in  heaping 
calumny  upon  them,  to  tarnish  their  reputation,  as  if  they 
were  the  most  abandoned  of  mankind.  Now,  as  that  which  ^ 
was  prefigured  by  David  was  fulfilled  in  Christ,  so  we  must 
remember,  that  that  which  is  behind  of  the  afflictions  of 
Christ  is  daily  filling  up  in  believers.  Col.  i.  24 ;  because,  he 
having  once  suffered  in  himself,  calls  them  to  be  sharers  and 
associates  with  him  in  his  sufferino;s. 


O" 


4.  On  account  of  my  love  they  have  been  opposed  to  me}  The 
Psalmist  had  already  solemnly  declared,  that  his  adversaries, 
unprovoked  by  any  injury  inflicted  upon  them  by  him,  and 
Avithout  any  just  cause,  became,  through  mere  diabolical  rage, 
his  most  implacable  foes.  Hei'e  he  confirms  the  truth  of  that 
declaration  by  saying,  that  he  had  been  their  friend.  For 
there  is  far  more  merit  in  showing  kindness  to  an  enemy 
than  simply  abstaining  from  doing  that  which  is  evil.  And 
from  this  we  may  perceive,  that  the  influence  of  Satan  must  be 
awfully  powerful  when  he  takes  the  hearts  of  men  captive  at 
his  will.  For  nothing  can  be  more  unnatural  than  to  hate 
and  cruelly  persecute  those   who  love  us.     To  love  he  also 

•  "This  expression,"  says  Hengsteuberg,  "finds  its  full  triitli  in 
Christ.  Christ's  love  to  man  was  daily  manifested  by  his  miraculous 
healing  all  the  infirmities  of  the  body,  which  was  returned  by  man's 
hatred  of  Ilim,  as  displayed  in  his  general  conduct." 


272  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

adds  deeds  of  kindness,  meaning,  that  it  was  his  aim  to  secure 
their  good  will  by  outward  acts  of  beneficence. 

5.  But  I  gave  myself  to  prayer}  Some  are  of  opinion,  that 
these  words  refer  to  David's  pouring  out  a  prayer  for  his 
enemies  at  the  very  moment  when  they  were  furiously  assault- 
ing him,  and  with  this  opinion  corresponds  that  which  we 
have  stated  in  Psalm  xxxv.  13.  But  the  more  plain,  and, 
to  me,  the  preferable  interpretation,  is,  that  when  he  was 
attacked  in  a  cruel  and  hostile  manner,  he  did  not  betake 
himself  to  such  unlawful  means  as  the  rendering  of  evil  for 
evil,  but  committed  himself  into  the  hand  of  God,  fully  satis- 
fied that  he  alone  could  guard  him  from  all  ill.  And  it  is 
assuredly  a  great  and  desirable  attainment  for  a  man  so  to 
restrain  his  passions  as  directly  and  immediately  to  make  his 
appeal  to  God's  tribunal,  at  the  very  time  when  he  is  abused 
without  a  cause,  and  when  the  very  injuries  which  he  sustains 
are  calculated  to  excite  him  to  avenge  them.  For  there  are 
some  persons  who,  Avhile  it  is  their  aim  to  live  in  terms  of 
friendship  with  the  good,  coming  in  contact  Avith  ill  men, 
Imagine  that  they  are  at  perfect  liberty  to  return  injury  for 
injury ;  and  to  this  temptation  all  the  godly  feel  that  they 
are  liable.  The  Holy  Spirit,  however,  restrains  us,  so  that 
though  oftimes  provoked  by  the  cruelty  of  our  enemies  to 
seek  revenge,  we  yet  abandon  all  fraudulent  and  violent 
means,  and  betake  ourselves  by  prayer  to  God  alone.  By 
this  example,  which  David  here  sets  before  us,  we  are  instruct- 
ed that  we  must  have  recourse  to  the  same  means  if  we 
would  wish  to  overcome  our  enemies  through  the  power  and 
protection  of  God.  In  Psalm  Ixix.  13,  we  have  a  parallel 
passage  :  "  They  that  sit  in  the  gate  spake  against  me  ;  and  I 
was  the  song  of  those  who  drink  strong  drink.  But  my  prayer 
was  made  to  thee,  O  Jehovah  !"  In  that  passage,  as  well  as 
in  the  one  under  review,  the  mode  of  expression  is  elliptical. 
Besides,  it  is  the  design  of  David  in  these  words  to  inform 


1  In  the  Hebrew,  the  sentence  is  very  short  and  imperfect,  "  But  I 
prayer  ;"  I  am  a  man  of  prayer  ;  or,  I  betake  myself  to  prayer.  Thus 
"  I  peace"  is  put  for  "  I  am  for  peace." — Ps.  cxx.  7. 


PSALM  CIX.        THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  273 

US,  that  although  he  was  aware  that  the  whole  world  was 
opposed  to  him,  yet  he  could  cast  all  his  cares  upon  God,  and 
this  was  enough  to  render  his  mind  calm  and  composed.  And 
as  the  Holy  Spirit  taught  David  and  all  the  godly  to  offer 
up  prayers  like  these,  it  must  follow,  that  those  who,  in  this 
respect,  imitate  them,  will  be  promptly  helped  by  God  when 
he  beholds  them  reproachfully  and  vilely  persecuted. 

6.  Set  ^  thou  over  Mm  a  wicked  person  ;  and  let  the  adversary 

stand  at  his  right  hand. 

7.  When  he  is  judged,  let  him  depart  guilty,  and  let  his  prayer 

he  turned  into  sin.^ 

8.  Let  his  days  be  few  :^  and  let  another  receive  his  office. 

9.  Let  his  children  be  fatherless,  and  his  wife  a  widow  : 


^  "  The  spirit  of  propliecy  is  blended  in  a  high  degi*ee  with  all  the  de- 
nunciations which  follow,  and  which  have  relation  to  the  impenitent 
Jews,  and  to  the  traitorous  apostle." — Morison. 

2  "  When  his  cause  shall  be  examined,  and  when  sentence  shall  be  pro- 
nounced, let  him,  as  the  oilginal  signifies,  go  out  guilty  ;  in  other  words, 
let  hira  be  condemned  ;  and  when  he  pleads  for  a  pardon,  or  for  a  miti- 
gation of  his  sentence,  let  his  petition,  instead  of  receiving  a  favourable 
answer,  be  regarded  as  an  aggravation  of  his  crime." — Morison.  Hoi'sley 
understands  the  last  clause  as  referring  to  the  Jewish  worship,  which, 
he  affirms,  is  now  become  sin,  as  it  contains  a  standing  denial  of  our 
Lord.  Fry  admits  that  Horsley's  exposition  of  this  line  is  ingenious. 
"  But,"  says  he,  "  n'psri)  [which  Calvin  renders  prayer,]  from  its  etymo- 
logy, and  from  its  usage,  Job  xvi.  17,  may  be  understood  to  mean  a 
judicial  sentence,  and  the  parallelism  in  this  place  strongly  argues  for  such 
an  interpretation.  Let  the  decision  on  him  be  '  Gui'.ty.'  "  Accordingly, 
he  reads,  "  On  his  trial  let  him  come  forth  condemned,  and  let  the  decision 
be,  For  sin." 

^  "  His  days  shall  be  few.  Hengstenberg  says  this  word  means  few 
times.,  as  if  he  considered  it  a  substantive  rather  than  an  adjective  ;  but 
it  is  doubtless  an  adjective  belonging  to  VJDS  (his  days.)  The  expression 
denotes  that  the  man  here  spoken  of  should  not  live  to  a  full  age,  but 
should  meet  with  a  premature  death,  either  violently  by  the  hands  of 
others  or  by  his  own,  as  was  the  case  with  Judas.  An  untimely  death 
is  often  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament  as  a  punishment  on  men  who 
are  eminently  guilty.  '  Bloody  and  deceitful  men  shall  not  live  out  half 
their  days,'  Ps.  Iv.  23.  See  also  Prov.  x.  27.  This  passage  is  apph- 
cable  not  to  Judas  only,  but  also  to  the  Jews  in  general,  for  after  the  cru- 
cifixion of  our  Lord,  then-  days  were  few ;  they  were  soon  dispossessed  of 
their  country,  and  became  the  outcasts  of  the  earth." — Phillips.  Horsley 
also  explains  this  of  the  days  of  the  Jewish  commonwealth,  which  were  very 
few  after  our  Lord's  ascension  ;  and  the  subsequent  clause,  "  let  another 
receive  his  oflice,"  he  understands  as  denoting  that  "  the  Christian 
Church  is  become  the  depository  of  revelation,  Avhich  was  the  particular 
charge  of  the  Jewish  race." 

VOL.  IV.  S 


274  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

10.  And^  let  his  children  wander  without  any  settled  habitation, 

and  let  them  he  beggars,  and  let  them  seek  food  out  of  their 
waste  places.^ 

11.  Let  the  extortioner^  seize*  all  that  belongs  to  him,  and  let 

strangers  spoil  his  labour. 

6.  Set  thou  over  Mm  a  wicked  person.s  Hitherto  he  poured 
out  his  complaint  against  a  vast  number  of  persons ;  now  he 
seems  to  direct  it  against  a  single  individual.     Probably  he 

'  "  The  10th  and  11th  verses  allude  to  the  state  of  the  Jews  in  their 
dispersion,  having  nowhere  any  settled  home." — Horsley. 

2  Horsley  reads  this  verse  as  follows  :• — 

"  Let  his  children  be  mere  vagabonds,  and  beg ; 
Let  them  be  di-iven  out  fi-om  the  very  ruins  of  their  dwelling." 

"  For  iK^-ni,"  says  he,  "  the  LXX.  had  i:>>-)y ;  '  let  them  be  driven 
out.'  This  reading  Houbigant  and  Archbishop  Seeker  approve.  The 
image  is,  vagabonds  seeking  a  miserable  shelter  among  the  ruins  of  decay- 
ed and  demolishedbuildiugs,  and  not  suffered  to  remain  even  in  such  places 
undisturbed." 

3  "  Literally,  '  the  lendei''  or  '  creditor.'  But  from  the  hard-heartedness 
of  the  Jews  towards  their  debtors,  of  which  we  have  instances  in  2  Kings 
iv.  1 ;  Nell.  v.  1-13  ;  the  word  seems  in  latter  times  to  have  cai-ried  a  bad 
sense ;  and  so  it  is  rendered  in  our  translation,  '  the  extortioner.' " — 
Mant. 

*  "  K'piV  shall  catch,  or  secure.  It  seems  to  denote,  to  catch  by  laying 
snares.  See  Ps.  xxxviii.  13.  This  sense  suits  very  well  this  passage  ; 
for  the  usurer  is  accustomed  to  obtain  the  substance  of  men  by  all  kinds 
of  artifices." — Phillips.  Horsley  renders,  "  draw  his  net  over  all  that  he 
hath."  How  striking  a  representation  of  the  treatment  which  the  Jews, 
since  the  time  of  the  last  destruction  of  their  city,  and  their  dispersion  by 
the  Romans,  have  received  from  almost  all  nations  among  whom  they 
have  been  scattered!  For  some  time  they  have  been  permitted  to  live 
in  Britain,  Holland,  and  Germany,  unmolested  ;but  what  a  tale  of  misery 
does  the  tyrannical  exactions  of  which  they  have  been  the  prey  for  cen- 
turies constitute ! 

5  Dr  Geddes  translates  the  6th  verse  thus : — 

"  May  he  be  tried  by  a  wicked  judge; 
And  at  his  right  had  be  placed  the  accuser." 

On  which  he  has  the  following  note  : — "  May  he  be  tried  by  a  wicked  judge. 
He  alludes  to  courts  of  judicature  :  and  wishes  that  his  enemy  may  have 
a  severe.,  nay,  wicked  judge, — certainly  one  of  the  gi-eatest  curses  that 
can  befall  one. — And  at  his  right  hand  be  placed  the  accuser.  Instead  of 
a  friend  or  advocate  to  stand  by  him,  let  his  only  attendant  be  an 
accuser.  What  imagery  this  !  But  the  height  of  the  metaphor  is  in  the 
next  verse : — 

'  When  he  is  judged,  may  he  be  found  guilty : 
And  may  his  deprecation  only  aggravate  his  crime.' " 


PSALM  CIX.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  275 

speaks  of  each  of  them  individually.  It  is,  however,  equally 
probable  that  he  refers  in  very  marked  terms  to  some  one  in 
particular  among  these  wicked  persons,  the  most  notorious 
transgressor  of  any  of  them.  Some  conjecture,  and  not  with- 
out reason,  that  Doeg  is  the  person  here  aimed  at,  who,  by 
his  treason  and  revolt,  sought  to  bring  ruin,  not  only  upon 
David,  but  also  upon  all  the  holy  priests ;  and  we  know 
that  this  psalm  is  applied  by  Peter  to  Judas,  (Acts  i.  20.) 
But  with  equal  propriety,  and  cei'tainly  not  less  forcibly, 
may  this  complaint  be  considered  as  applicable  to  some  most 
intimate  and  particular  friend  of  the  Psalmist.  Respecting 
the  imprecations  contained  in  this  psalm,  it  will  be  proper  to 
keep  in  mind  what  I  have  said  elsewhere,  that  when  David 
forms  such  maledictions,  or  expresses  his  desires  for  them, 
he  is  not  instigated  by  any  immoderate  carnal  propensity, 
nor  is  he  actuated  by  zeal  without  knowledge,  nor  is  he  in- 
fluenced by  any  private  personal  considerations.  These  three 
matters  must  be  carefully  weighed,  for  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  self-esteem  which  a  man  possesses,  is  he  so  ena- 
moured with  his  own  interests  as  to  rush  headlong  upon 
revenge.  Hence  it  comes  to  pass,  that  the  more  a  person  is 
devoted  to  selfishness,  he  will  be  the  more  immoderately 
addicted  to  the  advancement  of  his  own  individual  interests. 
This  desire  for  the  promotion  of  personal  interest  gives  birth 
to  another  species  of  vice.  For  no  one  wishes  to  be  avenged 
upon  his  enemies  because  that  such  a  thing  would  be  right 
and  equitable,  but  because  it  is  the  means  of  gratifying  his 


With  this  corresponds  the  interpretation  of  Phillips.  With  Ham- 
mond, he  understands  to  set  over  as  denoting  to  set  over  as  a  judge  or 
inspector.  "  This  notion  of  setting  over,"  he  observes,  "  corresponds 
with  the  next  member ;  for  there  it  says,  and  an  enemy  shall  stand 
at  his  right  hand,  which  shows  that  the  Avicked  man  was  to  be  ap- 
pointed to  act  as  a  judge.  The  man  at  his  right  hand  denotes  an  accuser, 
agi-eeably  to  the  custom  which  prevailed  in  a  Jewish  court  of  justice,  of 
placing  the  accuser  at  the  right  hand  of  the  accused,  (sec  Zech.  iii.  1 ;) 
and  hence  we  understand  in  this  verse  ytj)-|  to  be  mentioned  as  acting  in 
the  capacity  of  a  judge,  and  jt^-i  in  that  of  an  accuser."  Cresswell  gives  a 
similar  exi)lanatiou  of  the  passage.  Green,  who  follows  Dr  Sykes  in 
thinking  that  the  imprecations  from  this  verse  to  verse  17  were  pro- 
nounced not  by  David  upon  his  enemies,  but  by  David's  enemies  upon 
him,  reads  the  verse  thus  : — "  Set  a  wicked  man  over  him,  sai/  they,  to 
hear  his  cause,  and  let  a  false  accuser  stand  at  his  right  hand." 


276  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

own  spiteful  propensity.  Some,  indeed,  make  a  pretext  of 
righteousness  and  equity  in  the  matter,  but  the  spirit  of 
malignity,  by  which  they  are  inflamed,  effaces  every  trace  of 
justice,  and  blinds  their  minds. 

When  these  two  vices,  selfishness  and  carnality,  are  cor- 
rected, there  is  still  another  thing  demanding  correction,  the 
repressing  the  ardour  of  foolish  zeal,  in  Order  that  we  may 
follow  the  Spirit  of  God  as  our  guide.  Should  any  one, 
under  the  influence  of  perverse  zeal,  produce  David  as  an 
example  of  it,  that  would  not  be  an  example  in  point;  for 
to  such  a  person  may  be  very  aptly  applied  the  answer  which 
Christ  returned  to  his  disciples,  "  Ye  know  not  what  spirit 
ye  are  of,"  Luke  ix.  55.  How  detestable  a  piece  of  sacrilege  is 
it  on  the  part  of  the  monks,  and  especially  the  Franciscan 
friars,  to  pervert  this  psalm  by  employing  it  to  countenance 
the  most  nefarious  purposes !  If  a  man  harbour  malice 
against  a  neighbour,  it  is  quite  a  common  thing  for  him  to 
engage  one  of  these  wicked  wretches  to  curse  him,  which  he 
would  do  by  daily  repeating  this  psalm.  I  know  a  lady  in 
France  who  hired  a  parcel  of  these  friars  to  curse  her  own 
and  only  son  in  these  words. 

But  I  return  to  David,  who,  free  from  all  inordinate  pas- 
sion, breathed  forth  his  prayers  under  the  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  Then,  as  to  the  ungodly,  who  live  as  the  con- 
temners of  God,  and  who  are  constantly  plotting  the  over- 
throw of  the  unsuspecting  and  the  good,  casting  off  all  re- 
straint, so  that  neither  modesty  nor  honesty  proves  a  check 
to  them,  surely  they  are  deserving  of  the  punishment  of  hav- 
ing a  wicked  person  set  over  them.  And  since,  by  means  of 
intrigue  and  perfidy,  they  are  constantly  aiming  at  the  exter- 
mination of  the  good,  they  are  most  justly  punished  by 
God,  who  raises  up  against  them  an  adversary  that  should 
never  depart  from  their  side.  Only  let  believers  be  on 
their  guard,  lest  they  should  betray  too  much  haste  in  their 
prayers,  and  let  them  rather  leave  room  for  the  grace  of 
God  to  manifest  itself  in  their  behalf ;  because  it  may 
turn  out  that  the  man,  who  to-day  bears  towards  us  a 
deadly  enmity,  may  by  to-morrow  through  that  grace  become 
our  friend. 


PSALM  CIX.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  277 

7.  When  he  is  judged,  let  him  depart  guilty.     Another  im- 
precation is,  that,  being"  summoned  to  judgment,  he   might 
be  punished  without  mercy,  and  that,  though  he  humbly 
crave  forgiveness,  the  judge  should  remain  inexorable.     This 
might  with  propriety  be  understood  to  relate  not  merely  to 
his  being  judged  at  the  bar  of  men,  but  also  at  the  tribunal  of 
God.     But  as  it  accords  very  well  with  the  decisions  awarded 
by  an  earthly  judge,  and  as  this  is  the  commonly  received  in- 
terpretation, I  have  no  wish  to  depart  from  it.     There  are  two 
things  which  must  be  noticed  here  ;  that  the  wickedness  of 
the  wicked  may  be  so  palpable  as  to  leave  no  room  to  escape 
from  the  execution  of  justice,  and  that  all  their  entreaties  for 
pardon  may  be  disregarded.     Accordingly,  the  Psalmist  re- 
presents him  as  a  condemned  criminal  leaving  the  presence 
of  the  judge,  bearing  the  ignominy  of  the  condemnation 
which  he  righteously  merited,  having  his  nefarious  deeds  dis- 
closed and  detected.     With  respect  to  the  other  interpreta- 
tion which  places  the  ungodly  before  God's  judgment-seat, 
it  by  no  means   appears  absurd   to   say  that  their  prayers 
should  be  turned  against  them  to  sin,  the  more  especially  as 
we  know  that  all  their  sacrifices   are  an  abomination  un- 
to him.      And  by   how  much  they  themselves  are  filthy, 
by  so  much  do  all  their  plausible  virtues  become  oflfensive 
and  displeasing  to  God.     But  as  the  scope  of  the  passage 
is  in  favour  of  that  interpretation  which  applies  it  to  earthly 
judges,  I  do  not  consider  it  necessary  to  insist  farther  upon 
this  point. 

8.  Let  his  dags  be  few.  Although  this  world  is  the 
scene  of  much  toil  and  trouble,  yet  we  know  that  these  are 
pledges  and  proofs  of  God's  loving-kindness,  inasmuch  as  he 
frequently,  and  as  a  token  of  his  love,  promises  to  prolong 
the  lives  of  men ;  not  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  for  us 
to  remain  long  here,  but  that  we  may  have  an  opportunity 
of  sharing  of  God's  fatherly  love  which  he  bears  towards  us, 
by  which  we  may  be  led  to  cherish  the  hope  of  immortality. 
Now,  in  opposition  to  this,  the  brevity  of  human  life  is  here 
introduced  as  a  mark  of  God's  disapprobation  ;  for  when  he 
cuts  off'  the  wicked  after  a  violent  manner,  he  thus  testifies 


278  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

that  they  did  not  deserve  to  breathe  the  breath  of  Hfe.  And 
the  same  sentiment  is  inculcated  when,  denuding  them  of 
their  honour  and  dignity,  he  hurls  them  from  the  place  of 
power  and  authority.  The  same  thing  may  also  happen  to 
the  children  of  God,  for  temporal  evils  are  common  to  the 
good  and  to  the  bad ;  at  the  same  time,  these  are  never  so 
mingled  and  blended  together,  but  that  one  may  perceive 
occasionally  the  judgments  of  God  in  a  very  manifest  and 
marked  manner.  Peter,  quoting  this  verse.  Acts  i.  20,  says 
it  behoved  to  be  fulfilled  in  Judas,  because  it  is  written  here, 
"  let  another  take  his  bishopric."  And  this  he  does  on  the 
assumed  principle  of  interpretation  that  David  here  spoke  in 
the  person  of  Christ.  To  this  it  cannot  be  objected,  that  the 
Hebrew  term  ni^lpSj  pekudah,  signifies  generally  superintend- 
ence,^ because  Peter  very  properly  applies  it  to  the  apostle- 
ship  of  Judas.  In  expounding  this  passage,  sometimes  in 
reference  to  a  wife,  or  to  the  soul,  (which  is  a  precious  jewel 
in  man,)  or  to  wealth  and  property,  there  is  good  reason 
to  believe  that,  in  doing  so,  the  Jewish  interpreters  are  actu- 
ated by  pure  malice.  What  purpose  can  it  serve  to  pervert 
the  sense  of  a  word,  the  meaning  of  which  is  so  pointed  and 
plain,  unless  that,  under  the  influence  of  a  malignant  spirit, 
they  endeavour  so  to  obscure  the  passage,  as  to  make  it 
appear  not  to  be  properly  quoted  by  Peter  ?  From  these 
words  we  learn,  that  there  is  no  cause  why  the  ungodly  should 
be  proud  while  their  reputation  is  high  in  this  world,  seeing 
they  cannot  after  all  escape  from  that  doom  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  here  declares  awaits  them.  Here  too  we  are  furnished 
with  very  valuable  matter  of  comfort  and  patience,  when 
we  hear  that,  however  elevated  may  be  their  rank  and 
reputation  now,  their  downfall  is  approaching,  and  that  they 
will  soon  be  stript  of  all  their  pomp  and  power.  In  the  two 
succeeding  verses  the  malediction  is  extended  both  to  the 
wife  and  children ;  and  the  desire,  that  she  may  be  left  a 
widow  and  they  become  fatherless,  depends  upon  the  brevity 
of  that  life  to  which  the  prophet  formerly  adverted.  Men- 
tion is  likewise  made  of  beggary,  and  the  want  of  all  the 

^  "  Prsefecturatn  generaliter   significet." — Lat.      "  Signifie  generalle- 
ment  Superintendence." — Fr. 


PSALM  CIX.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  279 

necessaries  of  life,  which  is  a  proof  of  the  magnitude  of  their 
guilt;  for  assuredly  the  Holy  Sj^irit  would  not  denounce  against 
them  a  punishment  so  grievous  and  heavy  for  a  trivial  offence. 
In  delivering  up  his  property  ^  as  booty  to  the  extortioners^ 
David  nuist  be  understood  as  alluding  to  the  poverty  which 
was  to  overtake  his  children ;  for  he  is  not  speaking 
of  a  poor  and  mean  person  who  at  his  death  can  leave 
nothing  to  his  family,  but  of  one  who,  regardless  of  right  or 
wrong,  has  amassed  wealth  to  enrich  his  children,  but  from 
whom  God  takes  away  the  goods  which  he  had  unrighteously 
taken  from  others. 

12.  Let  there  he  none  prolonging  mercy  to  him :  and  let  there  he 

none  to  pity  his  fatherless  children. 

13.  Let  his  posterity  be  cut  of;  in  the  next  generation  let  their 

name  he  effaced. 

14.  Let  the  iniquity  of  his  fathers  be  remembered  before  Jehovah ; 

and  let  not  the  sin  of  his  mother  be  blotted  out. 

15.  Let  them  he  before  Jehovah  continually,  and  let  him  cut  off 

their  memorial  from  the  earth.'^ 

16.  Because  he  forgot  to  shoiv  mercy,  hut  persecuted  the  afficted 

and  poor  man,  and  the  sorrowful  in  heart,  that  he  might 
slay  him. 

12.  Let  there  be  none  prolonging  mercy  to  7um.  To  continue  to 
show  humanity  and  mercy  is,  according  to  the  Hebrew  idiom, 
equivalent  to  constant  and  successive  acts  of  kindness  ;  and 
it  also  sometimes  denotes  pity,  or  the  being  moved  to  sym- 
pathy, when,  through  the  lapse  of  years,  anger  is  appeased, 
and  even  one's  calamity  melts  the  heart  of  the  man  who 
bore  hatred  towards  him.^  Accordingly,  there  are  some  who 
understand  this  clause  to  mean,  that  there  will  be  none  to 
show  kindness  to  his  offspring  ;  which  interpretation  is  in  con- 
formity with  the  next  clause  of  the  verse.  David,  however, 
includes  also  the  wicked  man  himself  along  with  his  children ; 


1  "  Qiiand  il  donne  les  biens  en  proye  aux  exacteurs." — Fr. 

2  "  Taniovius  says,  the  passage  treats  not  concerning  all  memory, 
but  only  of  an  honourable  one." — Phillips. 

*  "  Et  mesmes  la  calamite  de  quelqu'un  amoUit  le  ceur  de  celuy  qui 
luy  portoit  haine." — Fr. 


280  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

as  if  he  should  say,  Though  he  visibly  pine   away  under 
such  calamities,  and  these  descend  to  his  children,  yet  let  no 
one  show  pity  towards  them.     We  are  aware  it  not  unfi'e- 
quently  happens,  that  the  long-continued  misfortune  of  an 
enemy  either  excites  the  sympathy  of  men  of  savage  dispo- 
sitions, or  else  makes  them  forget  all  their  hatred  and  male- 
volence.    But  in  this  part  of  the  psalm,  David  expresses  a 
desire  that  his  enemy  and  all  his  posterity  may  be  so  hated 
and  detested,  that  the  people  may  never  be  wearied  with  be- 
holding the  calamities  which  they  endure,  but  may  become 
so  familiarised  with  the  spectacle,  as  if  their  hearts  were  of 
iron.     At  the  same  time,  let  it  be  remarked,  that  David 
is  not  rashly  excited  by  any  personal  anguish  to  speak  in 
this  manner,  but  that  it  is  as  God's  messenger  he  declares 
the  punishment  which   was  impending  over  the  ungodly. 
And  verily  the  law  accounts  it  as  one  of  the  judgments  of 
God,  his  hardening  men's  hearts,  so  that  they  who  have  been 
passionately  and  unmercifully  cruel,  should  find  no  sympathy, 
Deut.  ii.  30.     It  is  just  that  the  same  measure  which  they 
have  used  towards  others,  should  also  be  meted  out  to  them- 
selves. 

13.  Let  his  posterity  be  cut  off.  This  is  a  continuation  of 
the  same  subject,  upon  the  consideration  of  which  the  prophet 
had  just  now  entered,  that  God  would  visit  the  iniquities 
of  the  fathers  upon  their  children.  And  as  he  had  to 
deal  with  the  whole  court  of  Saul,  and  not  with  any  single 
individual,  he  here  employs  the  plural  number.  But  as  in 
deeds  of  wickedness,  there  are  always  some  who  are  the 
prime  movers,  and  act  as  the  ringleaders  of  others,  we  need 
not  be  surprised  that  having  spoken  of  one  person,  he  next 
addresses  the  many,  and  then  returns  to  the  same  person. 
The  more  natural  and  simple  mode  of  explanation  is  to  refer 
it  to  his  oiFspring,  for  the  Hebrew  term  which  signifies  pos- 
terity is  collective,  implying  a  multitude,  and  not  a  single 
individual  only.  This  is  a  heavier  imprecation  than  the 
former.  It  sometimes  happens,  that  a  family,  overthrown 
by  an  unexpected  disaster,  rises  up  again  at  a  subsequent 
period ;  here,  however,  it  is  the  wish  of  the  prophet,  that  the 


PSALM  CIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  281 

wicked  may  be  so  completely  ruined,  as  never  to  be  able  to 
regain  their  former  state  ;  for  thus  much  is  implied  in  their 
name  being  effaced  in  the  next  generation,  or  after  the  lapse  of  ages. 
And  as  the  destruction  which  he  denounces  against  the 
houses  and  families  of  the  wicked  is  so  extensive,  that  God 
punishes  them  in  the  person  of  their  posterity,  so  he  desires 
that  God  may  remember  the  iniquities  of  their  fathers  and 
mothers,  in  order  that  their  condemnation  may  be  complete ; 
and  this  is  a  principle  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  com- 
monly received  doctrine  of  Scripture.  God,  out  of  regard  to 
his  covenant,  which  is  in  force  to  a  thousand  generations, 
extends  and  continues  his  mercy  towards  posterity ;  but  he 
also  punishes  iniquity  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generation. 
In  doing  this  he  does  not  involve  the  guiltless  with  the  Avicked 
indiscriminately,  but  by  withholding  from  the  reprobate  the 
grace  and  illumination  of  his  Spirit,  he  prepares  the  vessels 
of  wrath  for  destruction,  even  before  they  are  born,  Rom.  ix. 
21.  To  the  common  sense  of  mankind,  the  thought  of  such 
severity  is  horrifying :  but  then  we  must  recollect,  that  if  we 
attempt  to  measure  the  secret  and  inscrutable  judgments  of 
God  by  our  finite  minds,  we  do  him  wrong.  Struck  with 
horror  at  the  severity  of  this  threatening,  let  us  improve  it  as 
the  means  of  filling  us  with  reverence  and  godly  fear.  In 
reference  to  the  language  of  Ezekiel,  xviii.  20,  "  The  son  shall 
not  bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father,  but  the  soul  that  sinneth, 
it  shall  die ;"  we  know  that  in  these  words  he  disproves  the 
groundless  complaints  of  the  people,  who,  boasting  that 
they  were  guiltless,  imagined  that  they  were  punished 
wrongfully.  When,  however,  God  continues  his  vengeance 
from  the  father  to  the  children,  he  leaves  them  no  room  for 
palliation  or  complaint,  because  they  are  all  equally  guilty. 
We  have  already  said,  that  vengeance  commences  when  God 
in  withdrawing  his  Spirit,  both  from  the  children  and  the 
fathers,  delivers  them  over  to  Satan.  Some  may  inquire 
how  it  comes  to  pass,  that  the  prophet,  in  desiring  that  their 
sin  may  be  continually  before  God's  eyes,  does  not  likewise 
add,  let  their  name  be  blotted  out  from  heaven,  but  merely 
wishes  them  to  be  cut  off,  and  to  perish  in  the  world?  My 
reply  is,  that  he  spoke  agreeably  to  the  custom  of  the  age  in 


282  COMMENTARY    UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

which  he  lived,  when  the  nature  of  spiritual  punishments  was 
not  so  well  understood  as  in  our  times,  because  the  period  had 
not  yet  arrived,  when  the  revelation  of  God's  will  was  to  be 
full  and  complete.  Besides,  it  is  the  design  of  David,  that 
the  vengeance  of  G!od  may  be  so  manifest,  that  the  whole 
world  may  acquiesce  in  his  equity  as  a  judge. 

16.  Because  he  forgot  to  sJwto  mercy.  The  prophet  comes 
now  to  show  that  he  had  good  reason  for  desiring  such  awful 
and  direful  calamities  to  be  inflicted  upon  his  enemies,  whose 
thirst  for  cruelty  was  insatiable,  and  who  were  transported 
with  rage,  no  less  cruel  than  obstinate,  against  the  afflicted 
and  poor  man,  persecuting  him  with  as  little  scruple  as  if 
they  were  attacking  a  dead  dog.  Even  philosophers  look 
upon  cruelty,  directed  against  the  helpless  and  miserable,  as 
an  act  worthy  only  of  a  cowardly  and  grovelling  nature ;  for 
it  is  between  equals  that  envy  is  cherished.  For  this  reason 
the  prophet  represents  the  malignity  of  his  enemies  as  being 
bitter  in  persecuting  him  when  he  was  in  affliction  and  pover- 
ty. The  expression,  the  sorrowful  in  heart,  is  still  more  em- 
phatic. For  there  are  persons  who,  notwithstanding  of  their 
afflictions,  are  puffed  up  with  pride  ;  and  as  this  conduct  is 
unreasonable  and  unnatural,  these  individuals  incur  the  dis- 
pleasure of  the  powerful.  On  the  other  hand,  it  would  be  a 
sign  of  desperate  cruelty  to  treat  with  contempt  the  lowly 
and  dejected  in  heart.  Would  not  this  be  to  fight  with  a 
shadow  ?  This  insatiable  cruelty  is  still  farther  pointed  out 
by  the  phrase,  forgetting  to  show  mercy ;  the  meaning  of 
which  is,  that  the  calamities,  with  which  he  beheld  this 
guiltless  and  miserable  man  struggling,  fail  to  excite  his  pity, 
so  that,  out  of  regard  to  the  common  lot  of  humanity,  he 
should  lay  aside  his  savage  disposition.  In  this  passage, 
therefore,  the  contrast  is  equally  balanced  on  the  one  side  be- 
tween such  obstinate  pride,  and  on  the  other,  the  strict  and 
irrevocable  judgment  of  God.  And  as  David  spoke  only  as  he 
was  moved  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  this  imprecation  must  be  receiv- 
ed as  if  God  himself  should  thunder  from  his  celestial  throne. 
Thus,  in  the  one  case,  by  denouncing  vengeance  against  the 
ungodly,  he  subdues  and  restrains  our  perverse  inclinations, 


PSALM  CIX.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  283 

which  might  lead  us  to  injure  a  fellow-creature ;  and  on  the 
other,  by  imparting  comfort  to  us,  he  mitigates  and  mode- 
rates our  sorrow,  so  that  we  patiently  endure  the  ills  which 
they  inflict  upon  us.  The  wicked  may  for  a  time  revel  with 
impunity  in  the  gratification  of  their  lusts ;  but  this  threaten- 
ing shows  that  it  is  no  vain  protection  which  God  vouchsafes 
to  the  afflicted.  But  let  the  faithful  conduct  themselves 
meekly,  that  their  humility  and  contrition  of  spirit  may  come 
up  before  God  with  acceptance.  And  as  we  cannot  dis- 
tinguish between  the  elect  and  the  reprobate,  it  is  our  duty 
to  pray  for  all  who  trouble  us ;  to  desire  the  salvation  of  all 
men ;  and  even  to  be  careful  for  the  welfare  of  every  indivi- 
dual. At  the  same  time,  if  our  hearts  are  pure  and  peaceful, 
this  will  not  prevent  us  from  freely  appealing  to  God's  judg- 
ment, that  he  may  cut  off  the  finally  impenitent.^ 

17.  As  he  loved  cursing,  so  let  it  come  upon  him  :^  as  he  did  not 

take  delight  in  blessing,  so  let  it  he  far  from  him. 

18.  And  as  he  clothed  himself  with  cursing  as  with  a  garment, 

so  let  it  come  as  water  into  his  bowels,  and  as  oil  into  his 
hones.^ 

1  "  Ut  desperates  omnes  male  perdat." — Lat.  "  Afia  qu'il  extermine 
tous  ceux  qui  sont  du  tout  desesperez." — Fr. 

2  "  This  curse  alludes  to  the  imprecation  by  which  the  Jews  ventured 
to  take  upon  themselves  the  guilt  of  our  Lord's  death,  when  Pilate  pro- 
nounced him  innocent.  The  blessing,  *•  on  which  they  set  not  their 
heart,'  was  that  which  they  might  have  obtained  from  our  Lord." — 
Horsley. 

*  The  Hebrew  word  for  garment  in  this  verse  signifies,  according  to 
Parkhurst,  "  a  long  robe,  a  garment  commensurate  with  the  body."  See 
his  Lexicon,  -)d>  iii-  Horsley  renders  it,  "  a  garment  fitted  to  him," 
which  he  takes  to  be  the  precise  sense  of  no.  The  phrase  in  the  follow- 
ing verse  he  renders,  "  as  the  close  garment  which  wraps  him."  In  the 
second  clause  there  is  probably  an  allusion  to  the  water  of  jealousy.  See 
Num.  V.  18.  More  forcible  language  than  that  of  this  and  the  sub- 
sequent verse  could  not  be  employed  to  convey  the  strength  and  per- 
fection of  that  curse  which  fell  on  the  Jewish  nation  ;  and  the  condition 
of  that  people,  ever  since  their  dispersion  by  the  Romans,  affords  abun- 
dant evidence  that  the  terms  here  made  use  of,  strong  as  they  are,  to 
predict  this  condition,  are  but  barely  adequate  to  aftbrd  us  a  just  notion 
of  its  sad  reality.  "  The  curse  that  lighted  on  the  Jewish  nation,"  ob- 
serves Bishop  Home,  in  illustration  of  this  and  the  next  verse,  "  is  re- 
sembled, for  its  universality  and  adhesion,  to  a  '  garment'  which  covereth 
the  whole  man,  and  is  '  girded'  close  about  his  loins ;  for  its  diffusive 
and  penetrating  nature  to  '  water, '  which  from  the  stomach  passeth  into 


284  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

19.  Let  it  he  to  him  as  a  mantle  to  cover  him,  and  a  girdle  to 

gird  himself  with  continually. 

20.  Let  this  be  the  work  from  Jehovah  of  those  who  are  hostile 

to  me,  and  of  those  who  speak  evil  against  my  soul. 

17.  ^s  he  loved  cursing.  David  still  continues  to  enume- 
rate the  sins  of  his  adversaries,  and  is  thus  severe  in  his  treat- 
ment of  them,  in  order  to  render  it  more  apparent,  that  he  is 
strictly  conforming  to  the  judgment  of  God.  For  as  often 
as  we  draw  near  to  the  tribunal  of  God,  we  must  take  care 
that  the  equity  of  our  cause  may  be  so  sure  and  evident  as 
to  secure  for  it  and  us  a  favourable  reception  from  him.  For- 
tified by  the  testimony  of  an  approving  conscience,  David 
here  declares  his  readiness  to  commit  the  matter  between 
him  and  his  enemies  to  the  judgment  of  God.  The  words, 
which  are  expressive  of  cursing  and  blessing,  are  in  the  past 
tense,  cursing  came  upon  him,  and  blessing  was  far  from  him, 
but  it  is  necessary  to  translate  them  as  expressive  of  a  wish 
or  desire  ;  for  David  continues  to  pray  that  his  enemy  may  be 
visited  with  the  same  unparalleled  ills  which  he  had  inflicted 
upon  others.  A  stranger  to  every  act  of  kindness,  and  tak- 
ing pleasure  in  doing  evil,  it  is  the  wish  of  the  Psalmist  that 
he  may  now  be  subjected  to  every  species  of  calamity. 
Some  take  malediction  to  mean  cursing  and  imprecation,  there- 
by intimating  that  this  man  was  so  addicted  to  execration, 
that  mischief  and  malevolence  were  constantly  in  his  heart, 
and  proceeding  from  his  lips.  While  I  do  not  reject  this 
opinion,  I  am  yet  disposed  to  take  a  more  extended  view 
of  the  passage.  That  by  injury  and  abuse,  he  aimed  at  the 
suppression  and  abolition  of  every  mark  of  kindness,  and 
that  he  took  delight  in  the  calamities  which  he  beheld  com- 
ing upon  the  unsuspecting  and  the  good. 

Not  a  few  interpreters  translate  the  next  two  verses  in  the 

the  '  bowels,'  and  is  dispersed  through  all  the  vessels  of  the  frame  ;  and 
to  '  oil,'  which  imperceptibly  insinuates  itself  into  the  very  '  bones.'  When 
that  unhappy  multitude,  assembled  before  Pontius  Pilate,  pronounced 
the  words, '  His  blood  be  on  us  and  on  our  children,'  then  did  they  put  on 
the  envenomed  garment,  which  has  stuck  to  and  tormented  the  nation 
ever  since ;  then  did  they  eagerly  swallow  down  that  deadly  draught, 
the  effects  whereof  have  been  the  infatuation  and  misery  of  1700  years." 


PSALM  CIX.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  285 

past  form,  He  clothed  himself  with  cursing,  8fc.,  which  would  be 
tantamount  to  saying  that  the  enemy  was  as  fond  of  cursing 
as  of  costly  apparel,  or  that  he  clothed  himself  with  it  as  with 
a  garment,  and  that,  like  an  inveterate  disease,  it  was  deeply 
seated  in  the  marrow  of  his  bones.     The  other  interpretation 
is  more  simple,  That  cui'sing  should  cleave  to  the  wicked,  that 
it  should  envelop  him  like  a  cloak,  gird  him  about  as  his 
girdle,  and  should  even  penetrate  to  his  bones.     And  that  no 
one  may  rashly  take  for  an  example  what  David  here  spoke 
by  the  special  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  let  him  keep  in 
mind  that  the  Psalmist  is  not  pleading  here  in  reference  to 
any  personal  interest,  and  that  it  is  no  ordinary  character  to 
whom  he  refers.     Belonging  to  the  number  of  the  faithful, 
he  would  not  omit  the  law  of  charity,  in  desiring  the  salva- 
tion of  all  men.     But  in  this  instance  God  elevated  his  spirit 
above  all  earthly  considerations,  stript  him  of  all  malice,  and 
delivered  him  from  the  influence  of  turbulent  passion,  so  that 
he  might,  with  holy  calmness  and  spiritual  wisdom,  doom 
the  reprobate  and  castaway  to  destruction.     Others  would 
have  the  phrase,  he  loved  cursing,  to  mean  that  he  purposely 
drew  down  the  vengeance  of  God  upon  himself,  as  it  were 
procuring  destruction  for  himself  by  his  open  hostility  to 
him ;  but  this  is  an  unnatural  construction  of  the  .passage. 
The  interpretation  which  I  have  given  is  preferable.  That  he 
was  so  addicted  to  mischief  and  wrong,  that  no  act  of  justice 
or  kindness  was  to  be  expected  from  him.     In  the  meantime, 
let  it  be  observed,  that  all  the  machinations  of  the  wicked 
will  eventually  recoil  upon  their  own  heads,  and  that  when 
they  are  raging  more  violently  against  others,  then  it  is  that 
the  mischief,  which  they  so  eagerly  desire  may  come  upon 
them,  falls  upon  themselves,  even  as  the  wind  called  Cecias 
by  blowing  attracts  the  clouds  unto  him. 

20.  Let  this  he  the  work  from  Jehovah.  That  is,  let  the  gain 
or  reward  of  the  work  be  from  God.  In  pointing  out  the  work 
as  proceeding  immediately  fi-om  God,  he  intends  to  show 
that,  though  deprived  of  all  human  aid,  he  yet  entertained  the 
hope  that  God  would  grant  him  deliverance,  and  avenge  the 
injuries  of  his  servant.     From  this  verse  we  learn  that  David 


286  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

did  not  rashly,  or  unadvisedly,  utter  curses  against  his  enemies, 
but  strictly  adhered  to  what  the  Spirit  dictated.  I  acknow- 
ledge, indeed,  that  not  a  few,  while  they  pretend  a  similar 
confidence  and  hope,  nevertheless,  recklessly  rush  beyond  the 
bounds  of  temperance  and  moderation.  But  that  which 
David  beheld  by  the  unclouded  eye  of  faith,  he  also  uttered 
with  a  zeal  becoming  a  sound  mind ;  for  having  devoted 
himself  to  the  cultivation  of  piety,  and  being  protected  by 
the  hand  of  God,  he  was  aware  that  the  day  was  approaching 
when  his  enemies  would  meet  with  merited  punishment. 
From  which  we  also  learn,  that  his  trust  was  placed  in  God 
alone,  and  that  he  did  not  regard  the  persons  of  men  so  as  to 
direct  his  course  according  as  the  world  smiled  or  frowned 
upon  him.  And,  assuredly,  whosoever  places  his  dependance 
on  men,  shall  find  that  the  most  trifling  incident  will  annoy 
him.  Therefore,  should  the  whole  world  abandon  us,  it 
becomes  us,  in  imitation  of  this  holy  man,  to  lift  up  our 
heads  to  heaven,  and  thence  look  for  our  defender  and  de- 
liverer. If  it  be  his  intention  to  employ  human  instru- 
mentality for  our  deliverance,  he  will  soon  raise  up  those  who 
will  accomplish  his  purpose.  Should  he,  for  the  trial  of  our 
faith,  deprive  us  of  all  earthly  assistance,  instead  of  regarding 
that  as  any  reflection  upon  the  glory  of  his  name,  we  ought 
to  wait  until  the  proper  time  arrive  when  he  will  fully  display 
that  decision  in  which  we  can  calmly  acquiesce. 

21.  And  thou,   0  Jehovah  my  Lord!  undertake  for  me,  for  thy 

name's  sake  ;  deliver  me,  because  thy  mercy  is  good  ; 

22.  Because  I  am  poor  and  needy,  and  my  heart  is  wounded 

within  me. 

23.  /  wa/k  about  as  a  shadow  when  it  declineth  ;^  I  am  tossed  as 

the  locust.^ 


^  Horsley  translates,  "  I  am  just  gone,  like  the  sliadow  stretched  to  its 
utmost  length."  The  allusion  is  to  the  state  of  the  shadows  of  ten'estrial 
objects  at  sun-set,  lengthening  every  instant,  and  growing  faint  as  they 
lengthen,  and  in  the  instant  that  they  shoot  to  an  immeasurable  length, 
disappearing.  As  a  shadow,  when  it  is  extended  by  the  sun's  setting,  is 
approaching  to  evanescence,  so,  saith  the  speaker  in  this  psalm,  I  am 
fast  disappearing  ;  that  is,  am  approaching  the  end  of  mortal  life. 

2  The  Hebrew  word  for  locust  is  in  the  singular  number  ;  but  the  Sep- 
tuagint  reads  in  the  plural,  and  a  plurality  may  be  intended.     Locusts 


PSALM  CIX.        THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  287 

24.  My  hiees  are  become  feeble  through  fasting  ;  and  my  flesh 

faileth  of  fatness. 

25.  But  I  became  a  reproach  to  them  ;  when  they  see  me  they 

shake  their  head. 

26.  Help  me,   0  Jehovah  my  God  !  save  me  according   to  thy 

mercy  : 

27.  And  they  shall  know  that  this  is  thy  hand,  and  that  thou,  0 

Jehovah !  hast  done  it. 

21.  And  thou,  O  Jehovah  my  Lord!     From  the  pouring  out 
of  complaints  and  imprecations    against    his    enemies,   the 
Psahnist  passes  to  prayers ;  or  rather,  after  having  betaken 
himself  to  God  as  his  guardian  and  deliverer,  he  appears  to 
take  occasion,  from  this  cii'cumstance,  to  encourage  himself 
in  prayer;   even  as  all  the  pious  reflections  by  which  the 
faithful  exercise  and  strengthen  their  faith,  stimulate  them 
to  call  upon  the  name  of  God.     At  the  same  time,  he  does 
not  pique  himself  upon  any  service  which  he  has  rendered  to 
God,  as  deserving  of  his  help,  nor  does  he  rely  upon  his  own 
worthiness,  but  he  places  all  his  confidence  in  the  free  grace 
and  mercy  of  God.     That  integrity  of  which  he  was  conscious, 
he  placed  in  opposition  to  his  enemies,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  their  iniquity  more  manifest ;  but  he  does  not  aspire 
after  any  recompense  from  God,  because  he  adopts  the  nobler 

are  accustomed  to  fly  in  great  numbers,  and  the  swarms  of  them  are 
sometimes  so  numerous  in  Eastern  countries,  that  they  fly  in  the  air  like 
a  succession  of  clouds,  forming  enormous  compact  bodies.  But  when  the 
wind  blows  briskly,  locusts  being  weak  and  feeble  creatures,  these  swarms 
are  often  tossed,  broken  into  separate  masses,  thrown  one  upon  another, 
and  driven  over  the  sea,  into  which  they  fall  when  no  longer  able 
to  sustain  their  flight. — See  Exod.  x.  13, 19.  So  powerless  was  the  speaker 
in  this  psalm  before  his  persecuting  enemies.  He  was  driven  by  them  from 
place  to  place,  Avithout  the  power  to  ofter  any  resistance.  Hammond, 
who  considers  the  psalm  as  having  been  composed  by  David  when  forced 
to  flee  from  Jerusalem  by  the  rebellion  of  his  son  Absalom,  after 
referring  to  this  explanation  of  the  metaphor,  observes  :  "  Another  pos- 
sible way  there  is  of  understanding  the  resemblance.  The  locust  is  but 
a  large  sort  of  grasshopper,  which  hath  no  set  abiding- place  or  nest,  but 
leaps  to  and  fro,  roves  about  the  field  :  so  we  have  the  '  running  to  and 
fro  of  locusts,'  Isaiah  xxxiii.  4.  And  this  uncertain,  unsettled  condition 
of  those  creatures,  may  be  proper  also  to  express  David's  condition  in  his 
flight,  when  he  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head,  but  wandered  from  place 
to  place  uncertainly.  But  the  former,  that  is  founded  in  the  bands  of 
locusts,  is  fitter  to  express  David  and  the  company  with  him,  his  weak 
fugitive  army,  than  that  which  is  founded  in  the  manner  of  the  single 
locust  or  grasshopper." 


288  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

principle,  that  of  owing  every  thing  to  God's  vokintary  choice, 
upon  which  also  he  acknowledges  his  safety  depends.  Were 
it  lawful  for  any  one  to  boast  of  his  virtues  and  merits,  cer- 
tainly David  was  not  the  man  who  was  least  entitled  to  do 
80 ;  and,  moreover^  he  was  the  representative  of  Christ,  and 
of  the  whole  Church.  Hence  it  follows,  that  all  our  prayers 
will  vanish  in  smoke,  unless  they  are  grounded  upon  the 
mercy  of  God.  The  case  of  Christ  was  indeed  a  peculiar 
one,  inasmuch  as  it  was  by  his  own  righteousness  that  he 
appeased  the  wrath  of  his  Father  towards  us.  As,  however, 
his  human  nature  was  entirely  dependant  on  the  good  plea- 
sure of  God,  so  it  was  his  will,  by  his  own  example,  to  direct 
us  to  the  same  source.  What  can  we  do,  seeing  that  the 
most  upright  among  us  is  constrained  to  acknowledge  that 
he  is  chargeable  with  the  commission  of  much  sin  ;  surely 
we  never  can  make  God  our  debtor  ?  It  follows,  therefore, 
that  God,  on  account  of  the  benignity  of  his  nature,  takes  us 
under  his  protection;  and  that,  because  of  the  goodness  of 
his  mercy,  he  desires  his  grace  may  shine  forth  in  us.  In 
coming  to  God,  we  must  always  remember  that  we  must 
possess  the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience,  and  must  beware 
of  harbouring  the  thought  that  we  have  any  inherent  righteous- 
ness which  would  render  God  our  debtor,  or  that  we  deserve 
any  recompense  at  his  hands.  For  if,  in  the  preservation  of 
this  short  and  frail  life,  God  manifests  the  glory  of  his  name 
and  of  his  goodness,  how  much  more  ought  all  confidence  in 
good  works  to  be  laid  aside,  when  the  subject-matter  referred 
to  is  life  heavenly  and  eternal  ?  If,  in  the  prolonging  of  my 
life  for  a  short  time  on  earth,  his  name  is  thereby  glorified, 
by  manifesting  of  his  own  accord  towards  me  his  benignity 
and  liberality  ;  when,  therefore,  having  delivered  me  from 
the  tyranny  of  Satan,  he  adopts  me  into  his  family,  washes 
away  my  impurity  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  regenerates  me  by 
his  Holy  Spirit,  unites  me  to  his  Son,  and  conducts  me  to 
the  life  of  heaven, — then,  assuredly,  the  more  bountifully  he 
treats  me,  the  less  should  I  be  disposed  to  arrogate  to  myself 
any  portion  of  the  praise.  How  different  a  part  does  David 
act,  who,  in  order  to  procure  favour  for  himself,  publishes  his 
own  poverty  and  misery  ?     And  as  outward  affliction  is  of  no 


PSALM  CIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  289 

avail,  unless  a  man,  at  the  same  time,  be  humbled,  and  his 
proud  and  rebellious  spirit  be  subdued,  the  Psalmist  here 
repeats,  that  his  heart  was  wounded  within  him.  From 
which  we  may  learn,  that  God  will  be  a  physician  to  none, 
except  to  such  as  in  the  spirit  of  genuine  humility  send  up 
their  sighs  and  groans  to  him,  and  do  not  become  hardened 
under  their  afflictions. 

23.  I  walk  about  as  a  shadoic.  These  are  two  very  appro- 
priate similitudes  :  to  the  first  of  them  I  formerly  adverted  in 
Psalm  cii.  12 ;  namely,  that  the  afflicted  person,  and  he  who 
is  almost  lifeless,  is  very  fitly  compared  to  the  shadow  of  the 
evening.  At  sunrise,  or  when  he  is  shining  in  noon-day 
brightness,  the  constant  shifting  of  the  shadow  is  not  so  per- 
ceptible ;  but,  towards  sunset,  the  shadow  flits  befoi'e  us 
during  every  moment  that  passes.  By  the  other  similitude, 
the  transitory  nature  of  all  sublunary  things  is  pointed  out. 
For  as  the  locusts  are  constantly  skipping  from  one  place  to 
another,  so  David  complains  of  his  life  being  ever  rendered 
uneasy  by  incessant  persecution,  so  that  no  space  was  allowed 
him  for  repose ;  and  this  is  similar  to  what  he  says  in  Psalm 
xi.  1,  that  he  was  compelled  to  flee  like  a  sparrow,  for  which 
the  fowler  lays  snares  in  all  directions.  In  short,  he  mourns 
over  his  forlorn  situation,  that  he  could  find  no  place  of  safety, 
and  that,  even  among  men,  he  could  get  no  habitation.  And, 
as  in  this  psalm,  he  presents  us  with  a  picture  of  the  whole 
Church,  M^e  need  not  be  surprised  if  God  try  us,  and  arouse 
us  from  our  lethargy,  by  an  innumerable  variety  of  events. 
Accordingly,  Paul,  1  Cor.  iv.  11,  speaking  of  himself  and 
others,  says,  that  they  have  no  certain  dwelling-place;  a 
description  which  is  more  or  less  applicable  to  all  the  children 
of  God. 

24.  My  knees  are  become  feeble.  Though  David  had  the 
necessaries  of  life,  yet  he  emaciated  himself  by  voluntary 
abstinence,  to  which,  as  well  as  to  prayer,  he  gave  himself,  and 
therefore  we  may  regard  this  verse  as  expressive  of  his  sorrow 
and  sadness.  We  may  also  understand  it  as  expressive  of  his 
having  no  relish  for  meat  or  drink,  knowing,  as  we  do,  that 

VOL.  IV.  T 


290  COMMEMTAKY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

persons  who  are  in  sorrow  and  sadness  have  no  appetite  for 
food;  even  life  itself  is  burdensome  to  them.  Should  any- 
one prefer  restricting  the  interpretation  to  David's  being  in 
want  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  when  he  hid  himself  in  the 
dens  of  wild  beasts,  to  escape  the  fury  of  his  enemies,  and 
was  then  subjected  to  hunger  and  thirst,  he  may  do  so.  It 
appears  to  me,  however,  that  by  this  language  he  intends  to 
point  out  the  extreme  anguish  which  he  felt,  because,  with 
death  staring  him  in  the  face,  he  loathed  all  food ;  and  this 
is  in  accordance  with  the  next  clause,  in  which  he  says,  my 
jiesli  faihtli  of  fatness ;  because  "a  sorrowful  spirit  drieth  up 
the  bones,"  (Prov.  xvii.  22.)  By  the  term,  fatness,  some 
understand  delicacies ;  meaning  that  he  was  deprived  of  all 
that  food  which  is  pleasing  to  the  palate.  The  more  natural 
way  is  to  consider  it  as  denoting  his  becoming  emaciated  by 
reason  of  grief  and  fasting,  inasmuch  as  the  natural  moisture 
was  Avasted.  Another  proof  of  his  sad  situation  arises  from 
this,  that,  according  to  what  he  states  in  Psalm  xxli.  7,  he 
was  held  in  scorn  by  all.  It  is,  indeed,  a  sad  and  bitter 
thing  which  God's  children  endure,  when  they  are  made  to 
feel  that  the  curse  which  he  denounces  against  the  trans- 
gressors of  his  law  is  directed  against  themselves ;  for  the 
law  says  to  the  despisers  of  it,  '•  Thou  shalt  become  an  aston- 
ishment, a  proverb,  and  laughing-stock,"  (Deut.  xxviii.  37.) 
With  this  species  of  temptation  David  was  assailed ;  and  he 
declares  that  he  was  not  only  regarded  as  a  condemned  per- 
son, but  also  cruelly  derided;  God  at  the  same  time  coming 
in  for  a  share  of  it ;  for  it  is  usual  with  the  ungodly  to  con- 
duct themselves  with  insolence  and  pride  towards  us  when 
they  see  us  oppressed  under  afflictions,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
to  rail  at  our  faith  and  piety,  because  God  renders  us  no  help 
in  our  miseries. 

26.  Help  me,  O  Jehovah!  The  prophet  repeats  his  prayer, 
because  the  more  we  are  assailed  by  the  subtilty  and  deceit 
of  Satan,  the  more  necessary  is  it  for  us  to  strive  more  ardently, 
and  display  the  greater  boldness.  We  may,  indeed,  have  the 
full  assurance  of  God  being  propitious  towards  us,  yet  when 
he  delays  to  manifest  it,  and  wlien  the  ungodly  slander  us,  it 


PSALM  CIX.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  291 

must  be  that  various  doubts  which  keep  Intruding  themselves 
upon  us  arise  In  our  minds.  Hence,  It  Is  not  without  reason 
that  David,  In  order  that  he  might  Avithstand  such  attacks, 
places  himself  under  the  protection  of  that  God  who,  accord- 
hig  to  his  mercy  and  goodness,  helps  his  people  in  their  time 
of  need.  He  implores  that  deliverance  may  be  extended  to 
him,  not  by  ordinary  means,  but  by  the  peculiar  and  special 
display  of  God's  power,  so  that  his  enemies  may  stand 
abashed,  and  not  dare  to  open  their  mouths ;  and  we  know 
that  God  sometimes  secretly  grants  succour  to  his  servants, 
while,  at  other  times,  he  stretches  out  his  hand  in  such  a 
visible  manner,  that  the  ungodly,  though  they  shut  their 
eyes,  are  constrained  to  acknowledge  that  there  is  divine 
agency  connected  Avlth  their  deliverance.  For  as  his  enemies 
had  exalted  themselves  against  God,  so  it  was  his  desire, 
after  they  shall  have  been  subdued,  to  exult  over  them  in  the 
name  of  God.  In  cherishing  this  desire,  he  has  no  wish  to 
procure  for  himself  the  renown  of  being  valiant  in  war,  but 
that  God's  power  may  be  displayed,  that  no  flesh  may  glory 
in  his  sight.  The  words  may  also  be  viewed  as  referring 
both  to  his  deliverance  from  his  enemies,  and  to  his  affliction ; 
his  desire  being  to  attribute  his  deliverance  mainly  to  the 
grace  of  God ;  because,  in  opposing  the  hand  of  God  to  for- 
tune and  to  all  human  means  of  deliverance,  it  is  plainly  his 
intention  that  God  should  be  recognised  as  the  alone  author 
of  it.  This  deserves  to  be  carefully  considered  by  us,  for 
however  anxious  we  are  to  be  delivered  by  the  hand  of  God, 
yet  there  is  scarcely  one  among  a  hundred  who  makes  the 
manifestation  of  God's  glory  his  chief  end ;  that  glory  for 
which  we  oujiht  to  have  a  greater  reoard  than  for  our  own 
safety,  because  it  is  far  more  excellent.  Whosoever  then  is 
desirous  that  the  ungodly  may  be  constrained  to  acknowledge 
the  power  of  God,  ought  the  more  carefully  to  take  heed  to 
the  help  of  God  which  in  his  own  case  he  experiences ;  for 
it  would  be  most  absurd  to  point  out  the  hand  of  God  to 
others,  if  our  minds  have  not  recognised  it, 

28.    They  shall  curse,  but  thou  shalt  bless  :  when  they  arise,  they 
shall  be  put  to  shame  ;  but  thy  servant  shall  rejoice. 


292  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

29.  Thy  adtiersaries  shall  be  clothed  with  shame,  and  covered 

with  their  own  confusion,  as  with  a  garment. 

30.  I  will  praise  Jehovah  greatly  with  my  mouth  ;  and  I  will 

extol  him,  in  the  midst  of  the  multitude.^ 

31.  Because  he  standeth  at  the  right  hand  of  the  poor,  to  deliver 

his  sold  from  condemnations,'^ 

28.  They  shall  curse.  Interpreters  are  divided  in  their 
opinions  about  the  meaning  of  these  words.  One  class  would 
render  them  as  expressive  of  a  desire  or  wish :  Let  them  curse, 
provided  that  thou  bless :  let  them  arise,  and  he  clothed  ivith  con- 
fusion. Another  class,  and  with  them  I  readily  agree,  adopt 
the  future  tense  of  the  indicative  mood,  They  shall  curse,  Sfc. 
Should  any  prefer  to  understand  the  passage  as  indicating,  on 
the  part  of  the  Psalmist,  his  resolution  to  suffer  and  submit 
to  the  curses  of  his  enemies,  I  do  not  oppose  their  interpre- 
tation. In  my  opinion,  however,  those  Avho  view  the  words 
as  a  prayer,  misinterpret  them  ;  because  David,  having 
already  presented  his  petitions  to  God,  and  being  secure 
in  his  favour,  seems  now  rather  to  boast  that  their  cursing 
will  do  him  no  harm  ;  for  Thou,  says  he,  wilt  bless  me.  By 
this  means,  he  proves  how  little  and  how  lightly  he  regarded 
the  menaces  of  his  enemies,  though  they  might  assail  him  by 
the  poison  of  the  tongue,  and  the  power  of  the  sword.  From 
the  example  of  David,  let  us  learn  to  form  the  resolution  of 
engaging  God  on  our  side,  who  can  baffle  all  the  designs  of 
our  enemies,  and  inspire  us  with  courage  to  set  at  defiance 
their  malice,  wickedness,  audacity,  power,  and  fury. 

And  then,  indeed,  it  is  that  the  loving-kindness  of  God 
appears,  when  it  banishes  from  our  minds  the  fears  which  we 
entertain  of  the  threatenings  of  the  world.  Therefore,  relying 
upon  the  grace  of  God,  boldly  setting  at  nought  the  machina- 
tions and  attacks  of  his  enemies,  believing  that  they  could 
not  prevail  against  God's  blessing,  David  raises  the  shout  of 
triumph  even  in  the  midst  of  the  battle.     This  truth  is  still 

'  "  En  I'assemblee  des  grans." — Fr.     "  In  the  assembly  of  the  great." 
2  "  Cast,  de  ceux  qui  ont  juge  et  condamne  son  ame  a  la  moi't." — Fr. 

marg.     "That  is,  from  those  who  have  judged  and  condemned  his  soul 

to  death." 


PSALM  CIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  293 

more  impressively  inculcated  in  the  succeeding  clause  of  the 
verse  :  Though  they  arise,  yet  shall  they  be  put  to  shame.  By 
these  words  it  is  obviously  his  design  to  intimate  that  the 
ungovernable  violence  of  his  enemies  is  not  yet  subdued,  but 
that  he  can  endure  all  their  fury  and  foam  so  long  as  the 
hand  of  God  is  stretched  forth  to  maintain  and  defend  him ; 
and  thus  he  animates  and  fortifies  himself  against  all  the 
pride  of  the  world,  and,  at  the  same  time,  by  his  example 
emboldens  all  the  ffiithfid,  so  that  they  do  not  feel  dejected 
even  when  the  perverseness  of  their  enemies  seems  to  get  the 
advantage   over   them,  and   to  menace  them   with    instant 

c5  -' 

destruction.  Cherishing  such  a  hope,  he  trusts  that,  for  the 
future,  he  shall  be  delivered  from  all  his  sorrows.  Whence 
let  us  learn  to  bear  patiently  and  meekly  our  trials,  until  the 
fit  season  and  the  full  time,  which  God  hath  appointed, 
arrive  for  turning  our  weeping  into  joy.  In  the  following 
verse  he  proceeds  in  the  same  strain  of  exultation,  because, 
though  he  beholds  the  ungodly  assuming  a  lofty  air,  yet, 
looking  beyond  the  present  state  of  things  with  the  eye  of 
faith,  he  entertains  no  doubt  that  God  will  frustrate  all  their 
designs,  and  pour  contempt  upon  all  their  schemes. 

30.  /  will  praise  Jehovah  greatly  with  my  mouth.  These 
words  clearly  establish  the  truth  of  the  observation  I  for- 
merly made,  that  David  does  not  pray  God  to  curse  his 
enemies,  but,  by  the  holy  boldness  of  his  faith,  sets  them  at 
defiance ;  for  he  prepares  to  off'er  up  a  tribute  of  gratitude  to 
God,  as  if  he  had  already  realized  the  object  of  his  desire. 
The  phrase,  with  my  mouth,  is  not,  as  some  erroneously  sup- 
pose, superfluous,  but  is  to  be  considered  as  a  public  acknow- 
ledgment, on  his  part,  of  his  thanksgiving  to  God  for  the 
deliverance  vouchsafed  to  him ;  as  if  he  should  say,  I  will, 
not  only  when  alone  and  when  no  human  eye  beholds  me, 
and  in  the  inward  recesses  of  my  heart,  meditate  upon  the 
great  goodness  which  I  have  received  from  God,  but  also  in 
the  appointed  sacrifice  of  praise  will  I  declai*e  publicly,  before 
men,  how  much  I  am  indebted  to  his  grace.  Agi-eeably  to 
tliis  meaning,  he  adds,  in  the  assembly  of  great,  or  of  many 
men ;  for  the  term  D''Il'n5  rabbim,  is  susceptible  of  being  ren- 


294  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CIX. 

dered  both  Avays.  I  prefer  rendering  it,  great  men,  because 
it  appears  to  me,  that  David  refers  to  an  assembly  of  men  of 
notable  and  noble  rank.  He  declares  that  he  will  acknow- 
ledge the  goodness  of  God,  not  only  in  some  obscure  corner, 
but  also  in  the  great  assembly  of  the  people,  and  among 
governors  and  those  of  noble  rank.  In  the  celebration  of 
God's  praises,  there  can  be  no  question  that  these  must  issue 
from  the  heart  ere  they  be  uttered  by  the  lips ;  at  the  same 
time,  it  would  be  an  indication  of  great  coldness,  and  of  want 
of  fervour,  did  not  the  tongue  unite  with  the  heart  in  this 
exercise.  The  reason  why  David  makes  mention  of  the 
tongue  only  is,  that  he  takes  it  for  granted  that,  unless 
there  be  a  pouring  out  of  the  heart  before  God,  those  praises 
which  reach  no  farther  than  the  ear  are  vain  and  frivolous ; 
and,  therefore,  from  the  very  bottom  of  his  soul,  he  pours 
forth  his  heart-felt  gratitude  in  fervent  strains  of  praise ;  and 
this  he  does,  from  the  same  motives  which  ought  to  influence 
all  the  faithful — the  desire  of  mutual  edification ;  for  to  act 
otherwise  would  be  to  rob  God  of  the  honour  which  belongs 
to  him. 

Moreover,  he  also  subjoins  the  form  in  which  he  rendered 
thanks ;  namely,  that  God  stood  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
poor.  By  this  language  he  intimates,  that  when  God  had 
apparently  forsaken  and  abandoned  him,  and  stood  far  from 
him,  even  then  he  was  always  near  and  ready  to  render  him 
seasonable  and  needful  help ;  and,  assuredly,  his  poverty  and 
affliction  gave  some  reason  for  suspecting  that  he  was  for- 
saken of  God,  inasmuch  as  he  then  either  withdrew  or  con- 
cealed his  loving-kindness.  Notwithstanding  of  this  seeming 
departure,  he  acknowledges  that,  during  his  affliction  and 
poverty,  God  never  ceased  to  be  present  to  render  him  assist- 
ance. In  saying  that  he  was  saved  from  the  judges  of  his  life, 
he  sets  forth,  in  a  still  stronger  light,  the  very  trying  situa- 
tion in  which  he  was  placed  ;  his  having  to  deal  with  very  for- 
midable enemies,  such  as  the  king  and  the  princes  of  the  realm, 
who,  proudly  presuming  upon  their  grandeur  and  greatness, 
and  regarding  his  recovery  hopeless,  treated  him  as  if  he  had 
been  a  dead  dog.  It  is  my  firm  conviction,  that  in  this 
passage  he  complains  both  of  the  torturing  cruelty  of  his 


PSALM  ex.         THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  295 

enemies,  and  also  that  his  character  had  been  unjustly 
aspersed  by  calumny  and  reproach  ;  for  we  know  that  he  was 
borne  down  by  the  malignity  and  wickedness  of  those  who, 
being  invested  with  authority,  boastingly,  yet  falsely,  pre- 
tended that  they  wished  to  act  as  judges  and  as  the  executors 
of  justice,  which  plausible  pretexts  they  adopt  as  a  cloak  for 
their  iniquity. 


PSALM  ex. 

Tn  this  psalm  David  sets  fortli  the  perpetuity  of  Christ's  reign,  and  the 
eternity  of  his  priesthood  ;  and,  in  thojirsf  place,  he  afSrms,  That  God 
conferred  upon  Christ  supreme  dominion,  combined  with  invincible 
power,  with  which  he  either  conquers  all  his  enemies,  or  compels  them 
to  submit  to  him.  In  the  second  place,  he  adds,  That  God  would 
extend  the  boundaries  of  this  kingdom  far  and  wide ;  and,  in  the  third 
place,  That  Christ,  having  been  installed  into  the  priestly  office  with 
all  the  solemnity  of  an  oath,  sustains  the  honours  of  that  equally  with 
those  of  his  regal  office.  Finally^  That  this  shall  be  a  new  order  of 
priesthood,  whose  introduction  shall  put  an  end  to  the  Levitical  priest- 
hood, which  was  temporary,  and  that  it  shall  be  everlasting. 

^  A  Psalm  of  David. 

Having  the  testimony  of  Christ  that  tliis  psalm  was  penned  in  refer- 
ence to  himself,  we  need  not  apply  to  any  other  quarter  for  the  corro- 
boration of  this  statement ;  and,  even  supposing  we  neither  had  his 
authority,  nor  the  testimony  of  the  apostle,  the  psal.n  itself  would  admit 
of  no  other  interpretation ;'  for  although  we  should  have  a  dispute  with 

'  In  Matth.  xxii.  42-45,  Christ  applies  this  portion  of  Scripture  to  him- 
self; and  this  application  the  Pharisees,  before  whom  it  was  made,  so 
fiir  from  disputing,  at  once  admitted,  as  appears  from  their  inability 
to  answer  our  Lord's  question,  which  was  founded  upon  it ;  for  had  the 
psalm  been  differently  interpreted  by  any  party  among  the  Jews,  the 
Pharisees  Avould  unquestionably  have  taken  advantage  of  such  diversity 
of  opinion,  to  escape  from  the  difficulty  in  Avhich  they  were  placed  by  the 
question  addressed  to  them.  The  Messianic  interpretation  of  this  psalm 
is  also  supported  by  the  testimony  of  the  apostles.  The  author  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (chap.  i.  13)  quotes  the  first  verse,  to  prove 
Christ's  superiority  in  dignity  to  angels,  to  whom  Jehovah  had  never 
said,  "  Sit  on  my  right  hand,  imtil  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool." 


296  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CX. 

the  Jews,  the  most  obstinate  people  in  the  world,  about  the  right 
application  of  it,  we  are  able,  by  the  most  irresistible  arguments,  to 
compel  them  to  admit  that  the  truths  here  stated  relate  neither  to  David 
nor  to  any  other  person  than  the  Mediator  alone.  It  is  acknowledged 
that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  typified  in  the  person  of  David,  but  it  can- 
not be  asserted  of  him,  or  of  any  of  his  successors,  that  he  should  be  a 
king  whose  dominion  should  be  widely  extended,  and  who,  at  the  same 
time,  was  to  be  a  priest,  not  according  to  the  law,  but  according  to  the 
order  of  Melchizedek,  and  that  for  ever ;  for,  at  that  time,  no  new  and 
xmusual  priestly  dignity  could  be  instituted,  without  depriving  the  house 
of  Levi  of  this  peculiar  honour.  Besides,  the  perpetuity  Avhich  is  ascribed 
to  the  sacerdotal  oflBce  cannot  belong  to  any  man,  because,  with  the 
exception  of  the  man  Christ  Jesus,  this  honour  terminates  immediately 
at  the  close  of  the  short  and  uncertain  course  of  the  present  life.  But 
as  these  topics  will  be  considered,  more  at  large,  in  their  proper  place, 
it  is  sufficient  that  we  have,  at  this  time,  briefly  alluded  to  them. 

1.  Jehovah  said  to  my  Lord,  Sit  at  my  right  hand,  until  I  make 

thine  enemies  thy  footstool. 

2.  Jehovah  shall  send  out  of  Zion  the  sceptre  of  thy  power  :  rule 

thou  in  the  midst  of  thine  enemies. 

3.  Thy  people  shall  come  with  voluntary  offerings,  at  the  time  of 

the  assembling  of  thine  army,^  in  beauty  of  holiness  :^  the 
dew  of  thy  youth  shall  come  to  thee  out  of  the  womb  from  the 
morning. 

1.  Jehovah  said  to  my  Lord.^     What  is  here  stated  might 

In  Acts  ii.  34,  35,  Peter  quotes  the  same  passage,  as  prophetical  of 
Christ's  ascension  into  heaven.  See  also  1  Cor.  xv.  25 ;  Heb.  vii.  17  ; 
Eph.  i.  20,  &c.  The  psalm  is  thus,  beyond  all  controversy,  a  very  clear 
prediction  of  the  divinity,  priesthood,  victories,  and  triumph  of  the  Mes- 
siah. We  have  so  many  Scriptural  helps  to  its  exposition,  that  Ave  can 
be  at  no  loss  as  to  its  meaning.  Such  also  is  the  strength  of  the  internal 
evidence,  in  support  of  its  application  to  Christ,  that  although  the  Jews 
have  taken  a  great  deal  of  pains  to  wrest  it  to  another  sense,  yet  several 
of  the  Rabbins  have  been  forced  to  acknowledge  that  it  belongs  to 
him. 

1  "  Au  temps  d' assembler  ton  exercite." — Fr. 

2  Calvin,  in  pointing  this  verse,  has  very  properly  placed  the  colon 
after  holiness,  and  not  after  morning,  as  in  our  English  Bible. 

3  "  T/ie  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord.  Heb.,  '  Jehovah  assuredly  said 
unto  my  Adon'  which  last  word  is  used  for  lord  in  every  variety  of  rank, 
from  the  master  of  a  family  to  the  sovereign  of  an  empire.  In  its  origin, 
this  title  seems  similar  to  the  Italian  cardinal,  which  means  primarily  a 
hinge,  as  Adon  does  a  socket ;  hence  figuratively  applied  to  executive 
magistrates,  on  whom  the  government  rests^  and  public  affairs  turn." — 

Williams. 


PSALM  ex.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  297 

to  some  extent  be  applied  to.  the  person  of  David,  inasmuch 
as  he  neither  ascended  the  royal  throne  illegally,  nor  did  he 
find  his  way  to  it  by  nefarious  artifices,  nor  was  he  raised  to 
it  by  the  fickle  suffrages  of  the  people,  but  it  was  by  the 
direct  authority  of  God  that  he  reigned  over  Israel.  It  may 
be  justly  affirmed  of  all  the  kings  of  the  earth,  that  they 
have  been  placed  upon  their  thrones  by  the  hand  of  God, 
for  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  appointed  by  the  decree 
of  heaven,  and  "  there  is  no  power  but  of  God,"  (Eomans 
xiii.  1.)  Besides,  as  this  kingdom  was  altogether  peculiar, 
it  was  the  desia-n  of  David  to  make  a  distinction  between 
it  and  all  other  kingdoms.  God  indeed  invests  kings  with  ^ 
authority,  but  they  are  not  consecrated  as  David  was,  that 
like  him,  in  consequence  of  the  holy  anointing  oil,  they  might 
be  elevated  to  the  rank  of  Christ's  vicegerents.  In  the 
eighty-second  psalm  they  are  called  gods,  because  by  the  will 
of  God  they  hold  their  position,  and  in  some  respects  are  his 
representatives,  (all  power  being  lodged  in  him ;)  but  they 
are  not  clothed  with  that  sacred  majesty  by  which  David  was 
honoured  to  be  a  type  of  God's  only  begotten  Son.  More- 
over, he  justly  observes  that  the  kingdom  was  conferred 
upon  hira  in  a  totally  different  manner  from  other  earthly 
kings,  who,  while  they  acknowledge  that  it  is  by  the  grace 
of  God  they  reign,  yet,  at  the  same  time,  do  not  consider 
that  they  are  sustained  by  his  power,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
imagine  that  they  reign  either  by  their  own  policy,  by 
hereditary  right,  or  by  the  kindness  of  fortune  ;  and,  there- 
fore, in  so  far  as  it  respects  themselves,  it  must  be  affirmed, 
that  they  have  no  legitimate  title  to  reign.  And  since  they 
do  not  recognise  the  hand  of  God  in  what  they  derive  from 
him,  his  command  cannot  be  properly  addressed  to  them. 
David,  who  was  well  aware  that  he  was  anointed  by  God  to  be 
king  over  Israel,  and  who  maintained  an  obscure  and  retired 
position  until  summoned  to  assume  the  reins  of  government, 
shows  good  cause  why  he  is  not  to  be  classed  with  the  ordi- 
nary kings  of  the  earth  ;  meaning  that  he  reigned  by  a 
Divine  right.  That  the  whole  of  what  is  stated  in  this  verse 
cannot  be  entirely  and  exclusively  applied  to  David,  is  very 
obvious  from  Christ's  reply  to  the  Pharisees,  (Matth.  xxii. 


298  C031MENTARY  UPON  TSALM  CX. 

44.)  They  having  said  that  Christ  was  to  be  the  son  of 
David,  he  saith  unto  them,  "  How  then  doth  David  himself 
call  him  Lord  ?" 

The  objection  started  by  the  Jews,  that  Christ's  reply  was 
captious,  is  entirely  frivolous,  because  David  does  not  speak 
in  his  own  nanie,  but  in  that  of  the  people.  This  objection 
is  easily  repelled.  For  even  granting  that  this  psalm  was 
penned  in  name  of  the  wliole  Church,  yet  as  David  himself 
constituted  one  of  the  number  of  the  godly,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  tlie  body  under  the  same  liead,  he  could  not  separate 
himself  from  that  class,  or  be  dissevered  from  tliis  head ;  what 
is  more,  he  could  not  compose  this  psalm  for  others  without, 
at  the  same  time,  taking  part  with  them  in  it.  There  is  be- 
sides another  thing  deserving  of  notice,  the  assumption  of 
the  principle  or  maxim  then  generally  admitted,  that  David 
spake  by  the  spirit  of  prophecy,  and  consequently  prophesied 
of  the  future  reign  of  Christ.  This  principle  of  interpreta- 
tion being  admitted,  it  is  plainly  to  be  inferred  that  he  had 
a  reference  to  Christ's  future  manifestation  in  the  flesh,  be- 
cause he  is  the  sole  and  supreme  Head  of  the  Church.  From 
which  it  also  follows,  that  there  is  something  in  Christ  more 
excellent  than  his  humanity,  on  account  of  which  he  is  called 
the  Lord  of  David  his  father.  This  view  is  strengthened  by 
what  is  stated  in  the  second  clause  of  the  verse.  Earthly 
kings  may  indeed  be  said  to  sit  at  God's  right  hand,  inas- 
much as  they  reign  by  his  authority ;  here,  however,  some- 
thing more  lofty  is  expressed,  in  that  one  king  is  chosen  in  a 
peculiar  manner,  and  elevated  to  the  rank  of  power  and 
dignity  next  to  God,  of  which  dignity  the  twilight  only  ap- 
peared in  David,  while  in  Christ  it  shone  forth  in  meridian 
splendour.  And  as  God's  right  hand  is  elevated  far  above  all 
angels,  it  follows  that  he  who  is  seated  there  is  exalted  above 
all  creatures.  We  will  not  maintain  that  angels  were  brought 
down  from  their  high  estate  to  be  put  in  subjection  to  David. 
What,  then,  is  the  result,  but  that  by  the  spirit  of  prophecy 
Christ's  throne  is  exalted  far  above  all  principalities  in 
heavenly  places  ?  The  simile  is  borrowed  from  what  is  cus- 
tomary among  earthly  kings,  that  the  person  who  Is  seated 
at  his  right  hand  is  said  to  be  next  to  him,  and  hence  the 


PSALM  ex.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  299 

Son,  by  whom  the  Father  governs  the  world,  is  by  this  ses- 
sion represented  as  metaphorically  invested  with  supreme 
dominion. 

Until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool}  By  these  words 
the  prophet  affirms  that  Christ  would  subdue  all  the  opposi- 
tion which  his  enemies  in  their  tumultuous  rage  might  em- 
ploy for  the  subversion  of  his  kingdom.  At  the  same  time,  " 
he  intimates  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  would  never  enjoy 
tranquillity  until  he  had  conquered  his  numerous  and  formi- 
dable enemies.  And  even  should  the  whole  world  direct 
their  machinations  to  the  overthrow  of  Christ's  royal  throne, 
David  here  declares  that  it  would  remain  unmoved  and  un- 
moveable,  while  all  they  who  rise  up  against  it  shall  be  ruined. 
From  this  let  us  learn  that,  however  numerous  those  enemies  , 
may  be  who  conspire  against  the  Son  of  God,  and  attempt  the 
subversion  of  his  kingdom,  all  will  be  unavailing,  for  they 
shall  never  prevail  against  God's  immutable  purpose,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  they  shall,  by  the  greatness  of  his  power, 
be  laid  prostrate  at  Christ's  feet.  And  as  this  prediction 
will  not  be  accomplished  before  the  last  day,  it  must  be  that 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  will  be  assailed  by  many  enemies  from 
time  to  time  until  the  end  of  the  world  ;  and  thus  by-and- 
bye  it  is  said,  rule  thou  in  the  midst  of  thine  enemies.  The  par- 
ticle until  does  not  refer  to  that  which  may  happen  after 
the  complete  carnage  of  the  enemies  of  Christ.^  Paul  cer- 
tainly declares  that  he  will  then  deliver  up  the  kingdom  to  God, 
even  the  Father,  which  he  received  from  him,  (1  Cor.  xv.  24  ;) 


'  The  expression  is  borrowed  from  the  Eastern  custom  of  conquerors 
putting  their  feet  upon  the  neclis  of  their  enemies.     See  Joshua  x.  24. 

2  "  Until  I  make,  ^r.  It  is  remarlced  by  Genebrard,  that  the  particle 
^y  is  to  be  talcen  emphatically,  as  if  it  wei'e  equivalent  to  etiam  donee, 
and  signifies  continuity;  not  the  exception  or  exclusion  oi  future  times. 
Jehovah  is,  therefore,  speaking  in  substance  as  follows:  —  'Reign 
with  me  even  wniW  I  make  thy  enemies  thy  footstool;  even  at  the  time 
which  seems  opposed  to  thy  kingdom,  and  when  thy  enemies  appear 
to  reign,  that  is,  before  I  have  prostrated  thy  enemies,  and  have  caused 
them  to  make  submission  to  thee.  After  this  subjection  of  thy  adver- 
saries, it  is  unnecessary  to  say.  Thou  wilt  continue  to  reign.'  If  this  be 
not  the  force  of  the  passage,  tlien  we  must  suppose  that  the  reign  of 
Christ  will  cease  when  he  has  completely  subjugated  the  world  ;  which 
is  contrary  to  what  we  ai-e  taught  elsewhere  in  Scripture.  The  particle 
is  used  in  a  similar  manner  in  Ps.  cxxiii.  3  ;  Deut.  vii.  24." — Phillips. 


300  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  CX. 

but  we  are  not  to  take  these  words  as  denoting  that  he  shall 
cease  to  reign,  and  become,  as  it  were,  a  private  individual;  we 
are  to  regard  thein  as  describing  the  manner  of  his  reign, 
that  is,  that  his  Divine  majesty  will  be  more  conspicuous. 
Moreover,  in  this  passage  he  is  speaking  solely  of  the  repro- 
bate who  fall  under  Christ's  feet  to  their  own  ruin  and 
destruction.  All  mankind  are  naturally  opposed  to  Christ, 
and  hence  it  is,  that  ere  they  be  brought  to  yield  a  willing 
obedience  to  him,  they  must  be  subdued  and  humbled. 
This  he  does  with  regard  to  some  of  them  whom  he  after- 
wards makes  partakers  with  him  in  his  glory ;  M'hile  he 
casts  oiF  others,  so  that  they  may  remain  for  ever  in  their 
lost  state. 

2.  Jehovah  shall  send  out  of  Zion  the  sceptre  of  thy  power. 
The  Psalmist  not  only  confirms,  in  different  terms,  what  he 
stated  above,  but  also  adds,  that  Clu-ist's  kingdom  shall  be 
vastly  extended,  because  God  would  make  his  sceptre 
stretch  far  and  wide.  David  did  indeed  render  not  a  few 
of  the  surrounding  nations  tributaries  to  him,  but  still  his 
kingdom,  when  contrasted  with  other  monarchies,  was 
always  confined  within  narrow  limits.  There  is  in  the 
words  an  implied  contrast,  as  if  he  had  said,  that  Christ 
should  not  reign  as  King  upon  mount  Zion  only,  be- 
cause God  would  cause  his  power  to  extend  to  the  remotest 
regions  of  the  earth.  And  for  this  reason  it  is  denominated 
the  sceptre  of  his  power  ;^  and  how  astonishing  was  it,  that 
though  the  whole  world  was  leagued  in  opposition  to  Christ's 
kingdom,  it  yet  continued  to  spread  and  prosper.  In  a  word, 
David  here  animates  the  hearts  of  the  godly  against  being 
dispirited  by  the  foolhardy  attempts  on  the  part  of  those 
who  presume  to  introduce  discord  and  disorder  into  the  king- 
dom of  Christ ;  for  he  shows  them  that  God  will  put  forth 
his  invincible  power  for  the  maintaining  of  the  glory  of  his 
sacred  throne.  What  time,  then,  our  minds  are  agitated  by 
various  commotions,  let  us  learn  confidently  to  repose  on  this 

'  "  The  rod  of  thy  strength^  or  the  sceptre  of  thy  strength^  i.  e.,  thy 
powerful  sceptre,  the  sceptre  with  which  thou  rulest  thy  powerful  king- 
dom."— Phillips. 


PSALM  ex.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  301 

support,  that  however  much  the  world  may  rage  against 
Christ,  it  will  never  be  able  to  hurl  him  from  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father.  Moreover,  as  he  does  not  reign  on  his  own 
account,  but  for  our  salvation,  we  may  rest  assured  that  we 
will  be  protected  and  preserved  from  all  ills  under  the  guar- 
dianship of  this  invincible  King.  Doubtless  our  condition 
in  this  world  is  connected  with  many  hardships ;  but  as  it  is 
the  will  of  God  that  Christ's  kingdom  should  be  encompassed 
with  many  enemies,  and  that  too  with  the  design  of  keeping 
us  in  a  state  of  constant  warfare,  it  becomes  us  to  exercise 
patience  and  meekness  ;  and  assured  of  God's  aid,  boldly  to 
set  at  nought  the  rage  of  the  whole  world.  From  this  passage 
we  are  instructed  as  to  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles.  Because,  if 
God  had  not  told  us  in  this  place  respecting  the  extension  of 
Christ's  kingdom,  we  would  not  this  day  have  been  classed 
among  his  people.  But  as  the  wall  is  broken  down,  (Ephes. 
ii.  14,)  and  the  gospel  promulgated,  we  have  been  gathered 
together  into  the  body  of  the  Church,  and  Christ's  power  is 
put  forth  to  uphold  and  defend  us. 

3.  Thy  people  shall  come}  In  this  verse  the  Psalmist  sets 
forth  the  honours  of  Christ's  kingdom  in  relation  to  the  number 
of  his  subjects,  and  their  prompt  and  cheerful  obedience  to  his 
commands.    The  Hebrew  term,  which  he  employs,  frequently 


'  "  '  Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power.'  Volun- 
taries^ a  people  of  voluntarinesses  or  of  liberalities,  (as  Ps.  Ixviii.  10  ;) 
that  is,  shall  most  freely,  willingly,  and  liberally  present  themselves  and 
their  oblations  to  thee,  as  Judges  v.  9  ;  Acts  xi.  41 ;  Exod.  xxv.  2 ; 
Rom.  xii.  1  ;  Ps.  xlvii.  10  ;  cxix.  108  ;  Song  vi.  11." — Ainsworth. 
''  nm3  is  literally  prowptitudines^  readinesses ;  so  that  the  term  being 
plural  and  abstract,  maybe  regarded  as  highly  emphatic,  as  if  the  Psalm- 
ist said,  Tliij  people  shall  be  very  willing.  This  noun  also  signifies  volun- 
tary ohlalions.  Thus  Luther  has  rendered  it  by  williglich  opfern.  In  this 
sense  it  is  found  in  many  passages,  as  Exod.  xxxv.  29  ;  xxxvi.  3 ; 
Deut.  xxiii.  24,  and  several  other  places.  It  will  be  necessary,  if  this 
meaning  be  assigned  to  it  here,  to  supply  some  such  verb  as  x^n">.  The 
Psalmist,  however,  is  evidently  speaking  of  a  battle,  and,  therefore,  tlie 
admission  of  this  meaning  would  be  incongi'uous."— P/«7//>s.  "  Since  an 
army,"  says  llosenmiiller,  "  is  represented  in  this  passage  as  called  out 
to  a  warlike  expedition,  we  cannot  understand  nmj  otherwise  than  as 
signifying  a  prompt  and  willing  mind,  in  which  sense  we  find  it,  Hosea 
xiv.  5,  ultro,  voluntarily,  of  his  own  accoi'd,  Ps.  li.  14 ;  Judges  v.  2,  9." 
— Messianic  Psalms,  Biblical  Cabinet,  vol.  xxxii.  p.  271. 


302  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CX. 

denotes  voluntary  oblations ;  but,  in  the  present  case,  it 
refers  to  the  chosen  people,  those  who  are  truly  Christ's 
flock;  declaring  that  they  shall  be  a  willing  people,  sponta- 
neously and  cheerfully  consecrating  themselves  to  his  service. 
At  the  time  of  the  dssemhling  of  thine  army,  that  is  to  say,  as 
often  as  there  shall  be  a  convening  of  solemn  and  lawful 
assemblies,  or  the  king  shall  desire  an  account  of  his  people ; 
which  may  be  expressed  in  French,  au  jour  des  montres, — in 
the  day  of  the  review.  Others  render  it,  in  the  day  of  thy 
power ;^  but  the  former  is  preferable,  for  when  Christ  shall 
wish  to  assemble  his  people,  immediately  they  will  yield  a 
prompt  obedience,  without  being  forcibly  constrained  to  it. 
Moreover,  for  the  purpose  of  assuring  us  that  this,  in  pre- 
ference to  all  other  kingdoms,  was  set  apart  by  God  for  his 
peculiar  services,  it  is  added,  the  beauties  or  honours  of  holi- 
ness, thereby  intimating,  that  all  who  become  Christ's  sub- 
jects Avill  not  approach  him  as  they  would  do  an  earthly 
king,  but  as  they  would  come  into  the  presence  of  God  him- 
self, their  sole  aim  being  to  serve  God. 

Out  of  the  womb  of  the  morning,'^  Sfc.  It  would  not  be  for 
edification  to  recount  all  the  interpretations  which  have  been 
given  of  this  clause,  for  when  I  have  established  its  true  and 
natural  import,  it  would  be  quite  superfluous  to  enter  upon  a 
refutation  of  others.    There  does  not,  indeed,  appear  to  me  any 

'  "I  have  rendered  the  words,  -[^ipi  Dl'^rii  in  the  day  of  thy  poiver ;  aud 
I  understand  that  day  as  referring  to  the  time  when,  in  consequence  of 
Peter's  exhortation,  three  thousand  persons  made  profession  of  the 
Christian  faith." — Dante  on  the  Messianic  Psalms^  Biblical  Cabinet^ 
vol.  xxxii.  p.  318.  With  this  corresponds  the  interpretation  of  Ham- 
mond: "  The  Messiah,  in  the  former  verses,  is  set  upon  his  throne,  for 
the  exercise  of  his  regal  power,  with  a  sword  or  sceptre  in  his  hand ;  and, 
as  such,  he  is  supposed  to  rule  in  the  world,  to  go  out  to  conquer  and 
subdue  all  before  him.  The  army  which  he  makes  use  of  to  this  end  is 
the  college  of  apostles,  sent  out  to  preach  to  all  natioiis;  and  the  time  of 
their  thus  preaching  is  here  called  "i^tn  D1S  '  the  day  of  his  power,'  or 
'  forces,'  or  '  army.' "  But  Queen  Elizabeth's  translators  understood  the 
phrase  in  the  same  sense  as  Calvin,  rendering  it,  "  The  people  shall  come 
willingly  at  the  time  of  assembling  thine  army."'  In  like  manner.  Rosen- 
mUller  reads,  "  In  the  day  of  thy  army ;  that  is,"  says  he,  ''in  the  day 
when  thou  assemblest  aud  leadest  forth  thine  army.  The  word  ^>p^, 
militia.,  is  here  used  as  in  Deut.  xi.  4 ;  2  Kings  vi.  15,  signifying  mili- 
tary forces." — Ibid.  vol.  xxxii.  p.  273. 

2  "  Des  la  matrice^  comme  de,  Vestoille  du  matin.'''' — Fr.  "  Out  of  t/te 
uomb,  as  if  from  or  out  of  the  star  of  the  morning'^ 


PSALk  ex.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  303 

reason  to  doubt  that,  in  this  place,  David  extols  the  Divine 
favour  displayed  in  increasing  the  number  of  Christ's  people  ; 
and  hence,  in  consequence  of  their  extraordinary  increase, 
he  compares  the  youth  or  race  Avhich  would  be  born  to  him 
to  the  dew?  As  men  are  struck  with  astonishment  at  seeing 
the  earth  moistened  and  refreshed  with  dew,  though  its 
descent  be  imperceptible,  even  so,  David  declares  that  an 
innumerable  offspring  shall  be  born  to  Christ,  who  shall  be 
spread  over  the  whole  earth.  The  youth,  therefore,  which, 
like  the  dew-drops,  are  innumerable,  are  here  designated  the 
deto  of  childhood  ov  of  youth.-  The  Hebrew  term,  ^'^7^  yaldutJi, 
is  used  as  a  collective  noun,  that  is,  a  noun  which  does  not 
point  out  a  single  individual  only,  but  a  community  or 
society.^  Should  any  wish  to  attach  a  more  definite  and  dis- 
tinct signification  to  the  term,  he  may  do  so  in  the  following 
manner:  That  an  offspring,  innumerable  as  the  dew-drops  of 
the  morningj  sliall  issue  from  his  womb.  The  testimony  of 
experience  proves  that  there  was  good  reason  for  uttering 
this  prediction.  The  multitude  who,  in  so  short  a  time,  have 
been  gathered  together  and  subjected  to  Christ's  sway,  is 
incredible ;  the  more  so,  as  this  has  been  accomplished  by 
the  sound  of  the  Gospel  alone,  and  that,  too,  in  spite  of  the 
formidable  opposition  of  the  whole  world.  Besides,  it  is  not 
surprising  that  aged  persons,  who  are  recently  converted  to 
Christ,  should  be  designated  children  newly  born,  because 
the  spiritual  birth,  according  to  Peter,  makes  all  the  godly 
become  as  new-born  babes,  (1  Pet.  ii.  2.)  To  the  same  pur- 
pose are  the  words  of  Isaiah,  (liii.  10,)  that  Christ  "  shall  see  a 
seed  whose  days  shall  be  pi'olonged ;"  and  under  his  reign  the 
Church  has  the  promise  of  enjoying  a  season  of  incalculable 
fertility.  What  has  been  said  will  serve  to  account  for  the 
appellation  given  to  the  Church  or  children  of  God.  And, 
assuredly,  it  is  matter  of  surprise  that  there  should  be  any, 


'  "  Among  the  earliest  Greek  writers,  dew  seems  to  have  been  a  figu- 
rative exprt'ssiou  for  tlie  young  of  any  animal.  Thus,  "h^oao;  is  nsed  by 
^■Eschylus  for  an  unfledged  bh'd,  (A(/(anemn.  145 ;)  and  sjo-ii,  by  Homer, 
for  a  young  lamb  or  kid,  {Od.  i.  222.)'"^Horslc>/. 

'^  "  Qui  ne  se  dit  pas  d'une  personue  seulc,  mais  do  (luchpie  multitude 
et  compagnie." — Fr. 


304  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CX. 

though  the  number  may  be  few,  gathered  out  of  a  world  lying 
in  ruins,  and  inhabited  by  the  children  of  wrath ;  and  it  is 
still  more  surprising,  that  such  vast  multitudes  are  regene- 
rated by  the  Spirit  of  Christ  and  by  the  word.  At  the  . 
same  time,  we  would  do  well  to  bear  in  mind,  that  to  execute 
God's  commands  promptly  and  cheerfully,  and  to  be  guided 
solely  by  his  will,  is  the  peculiar  honour  and  privilege  of  his 
chosen ;  for  Christ  will  recognise  none  as  his  people,  except 
those  who  willingly  take  his  yoke  upon  them,  and  come  into 
his  presence  at  the  voice  of  his  word.  And  that  no  one  may 
imagine  that  eye-service  is  a  proper  discharge  of  his  duty, 
the  Psalmist  very  properly  adds,  that  Christ  will  not  be  satis- 
fied with  mere  external  ceremony,  but  that  he  must  be  wor- 
shipped with  true  reverence,  such  as  he  himself  instructs  us 
to  bring  into  the  presence  of  God. 

4.  Jehovah  hath  sworn,  and  will  not  repent  hhn,^  Thou  art  a  priest 
for  ever,  according  to  the  manner  of  Melchizedek, 

4.  Jehovah  hath  sioorn.  This  verse  is  a  satisfactory 
proof  that  the  person  here  spoken  of  is  none  other  than 
Christ.  When  the  Jews,  with  the  view  of  mystifying  this 
prediction,  render  the  term  |n*lDj  chohen,  a  prince,  their  trans- 
lation is  at  once  feeble  and  frivolous.  I  acknowledge,  indeed, 
that  those  of  noble  descent  or  of  royal  blood  are  in  Hebrew 
denominated  D"'irt^j  chohanim  ;  but  would  it  have  been  saying 
any  thing  to  the  honour  of  Christ  for  David  merely  to  give 
to  him  the  title  of  a  chief,  which  is  inferior  to  that  of  royal 
dignity  ?  Besides,  what  would  be  the  import  of  saying  that 
he  was  a  prince  for  ever,  and  according  to  the  manner  of 
Melchizedek  ?  There  can  be  no  question  then,  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  here  refers  to  something  specific  and  peculiar,  as  dis- 

1  The  addition,  "  and  will  not  repent,"  is  intended  to  indicate  the  ab- 
solute character  of  the  oath,  that  it  cannot  be  annulled  or  suspended  in 
consequence  of  any  altered  circumstances  ;  that  no  change  of  counsel  or 
of  conduct  in  the  parties  concerned  shall  cause  any  change  in  the  divine 
purpose,  so  that  it  may  be  said,  Jehovah  repented,  as  he  is  said  to  have 
repented  of  creating  man  on  observing  the  wickedness  of  the  human  race, 
(Gen.  vi.  6.)  A  similar  form  of  expression  is  elsewhere  employed  to  ex- 
press the  immutability  of  what  God  declares  or  swears,  (Numb,  xxiii. 
19  ;  1  Sam.  xv.  29.) 


PSALM  ex.         THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  305 

tinguishing  and  separating  this  king  from  all  other  kings. 
This,  too,  is  the  well  known  title  with  which  Melchizedek 
was  honoured  by  Moses,  (Gen.  xiv.  18.)  I  grant,  indeed,  that 
anciently  among  heathen  nations  kings  were  wont  to  exercise 
the  priestly  office;  but  Melchizedek  is  called  "the  priest  of  the 
most  high  God,"  in  consequence  of  his  devoutly  worshipping 
the  only  true  God.  Among  his  own  people,  however,  God 
did  not  permit  the  blending  of  these  offices.  Hence  Uzziah, 
David's  legitimate  successor,  was  struck  with  leprosy  because 
he  attempted  to  offer  incense  to  God,  (2  Chron.  xxvi.  21.) 
The  circumstances  connected  with  the  lineage  of  David  were 
vastly  different  from  those  relating  to  Melchizedek.  What 
these  are  it  is  not  difficult  to  ascertain,  inasmuch  as  in  this 
new  King  the  holy  office  of  the  priesthood  shall  be  united 
with  the  crown  and  the  throne.  For  assuredly  the  imperial 
majesty  was  not  so  conspicuous  in  such  an  obscure  prince  as 
Melchizedek,  as  on  that  account  to  warrant  his  being  held 
out  as  an  example  above  all  others.  Salem,  the  sole  seat  of 
his  throne,  and  where  he  reigned  by  sufferance,  was  at  that 
time  a  small  obscure  town,  so  that  with  regard  to  him  there 
was  nothing  deserving  of  notice  saving  the  conjunction  of 
the  crown  and  the  priesthood.  Ambitious  of  procuring  greater 
reverence  for  their  persons,  heathen  kings  aspired  after  the 
honour  of  the  sacerdotal  office  ;  but  it  was  by  divine  authority 
that  Melchizedek  was  invested  with  both  these  functions. 

All  dubiety  as  to  this  being  the  meaning  of  David  ought 
to  be  banished  from  our  minds  by  the  authority  of  the 
Apostle.  And  although  the  Jews  may  maintain  the  contrary 
as  obstinately  as  they  please,  yet  reason  manifestly  declares 
that  the  beauty  of  holiness,  to  which  I  formerly  adverted,  is 
here  very  clearly  described.  To  this  a  decisive  and  peculiar 
mark  is  appended,  which  elevates  Christ  above  all  other  kings 
with  regard  to  the  dignity  of  the  priesthood,  and  which  at 
the  same  time  tends  to  point  out  the  difference  between  his 
priesthood  and  that  of  Levi.  In  connection  Avith  his  sacer- 
dotal office,  mention  is  made  of  God's  oath,  who  was  not 
wont  to  mingle  his  venerable  name  with  matters  of  minor  im- 
portance ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  to  teach  us  by  his  own  ex- 
ample to  swear  deliberately  and  reverently,  and  never  unless 
VOL.  IV.  u 


306  COMMENTARY  UrON  PSALM  CX. 

ia  weighty  and  Important  matters.  Admitting,  then,  that 
God  had  sworn  that  the  Messiah  would  be  the  prince  and 
governor  of  his  people,  according  as  Melchizedek  was,  this 
would  have  been  ^othing  else  than  an  unbecoming  profana- 
tion of  his  name.  When,  however,  it  is  quite  apparent  that 
something  unusual  and  peculiar  was  denoted  in  this  place, 
we  may  therefore  conclude  that  the  priesthood  of  Christ  is 
invested  with  great  importance,  seeing  that  it  is  ratified  by 
the  oath  of  God.  And,  in  feet,  it  is  the  very  turning  point 
upon  Avhich  our  salvation  depends  ;  because,  but  for  our  re- 
liance on  Christ  our  Mediator,  we  would  be  all  debarred  from 
entering  into  God's  presence.  In  prayer,  too,  nothing  is  more 
needful  for  us  than  sure  confidence  in  God,  and  therefore  he 
not  only  invites  us  to  come  to  him,  but  also  by  an  oath  hath 
appointed  an  advocate  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  acceptance 
for  us  in  his  sight.  As  for  those  who  shut  the  door  against 
themselves,  they  subject  themselves  to  the  guilt  of  impeach- 
ing him  with  being  a  God  of  untruth  and  of  perjury.  It  is 
in  this  way  that  the  Apostle  argues  the  disannulling  of  the 
Levitical  priesthood ;  because,  Avhile  that  remained  entire, 
God  would  not  have  sworn  that  there  should  be  a  new  order 
of  priesthood  unless  some  change  had  been  contemplated. 
What  is  more,  when  he  promises  a  new  priest,  it  is  certain 
that  he  would  be  one  who  would  be  superior  to  all  others, 
and  would  also  abolish  the  then  existing  order. 

Some  translate  the  term  Tll^T,  diberathi,  according  to  my 
word,'^  an  interpretation  Avhich  I  am  not  disposed  entirely  to 
reject,  inasmuch  as  David  would  be  represented  as  affirming 
that  the  priesthood  of  Melchizedek  is  founded  upon  the  call 
and  commandment  of  God.  But  as  the  letter  *>,  yod,  is  fre- 
quently redundant,  I,  in  common  with  the  majority  of  inter- 
preters, prefer  translating  it  simply  manner.  Moreover,  as  not  a 
few  of  the  fathers  have  misapprehended  the  comparison  between 
Christ  and  Melchizedek,  we  must  learn  from  the  Apostle  what 
that  resemblance  is ;  from  which  will  be  readily  seen  the  error 

^  "Tlinn  hv-  Secundum  meam  constitutiouem,  (q.  d.,)  Not  accord- 
ing to  the  Levitical  order,  but  according  to  my  apjMintment,  the  true  Mel- 
chizedek. See  Heb.  \n"—Goode's  New  Version  of  the  Book  of  Psalms, 
with  Azotes. 


PSALM  ex.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSAL3IS.  307 

into  which  they  fell  respecting  it.  For  can  there  be  jiny  thing 
more  absurd  than  to  overlook  all  the  mysteries  about  which  the 
Spirit,  by  the  mouth  of  the  Apostle,  hath  spoken,  and  attend 
only  to  such  as  he  has  omitted  ?  Such  persons  argue  solely 
about  the  bread  and  wine,  which  they  maintain  were  offered 
both  by  Melchizedek  and  Christ.  But  Melchizedek  offered 
bread  and  wine,  not  as  a  sacrifice  to  God,  but  to  Abraham 
as  a  repast  to  refresh  him  on  his  march.  In  the  holy  Supper 
there  is  not  an  offering  of  bread  and  wine  as  they  eri'oneously 
imagine,  but  a  mutual  participation  of  it  among  the  faithful. 
As  to  the  passage  under  review,  the  similitude  refers  princi- 
pally to  the  perpetuity  of  his  priesthood,  as  is  obvious  from 
the  particle  U7)y7,  kolam,  that  is  to  say,  for  ever.  Melchize- 
dek is  described  by  Moses  as  if  he  were  a  celestial  individual ; 
and,  accordingly,  David,  in  instituting  a  resemblance  between 
Christ  and  him,  designs  to  point  out  the  perpetuity  of  his 
priestly  office.  Whence  it  follows,  (a  point  which  is  handled 
by  the  Apostle,)  that  as  death  did  not  intercept  the  exercise 
of  his  office,  he  has  no  successor.  And  this  circumstance 
demonstrates  the  accursed  sacrilege  of  the  Popish  mass  ; 
for,  if  the  Popish  priests  will  assume  the  prerogative  of 
effecting  a  reconciliation  between  God  and  men,  they  must 
of  necessity  denude  Christ  of  the  peculiar  and  distinguishing 
honour  which  his  Father  has  conferred  upon  him. 

5.    The  Lord  at  thy  right  hand^  hath  broken  in  pieces  kings  in 
the  day  of  his  wrath. 

^  "  The  Lord  at  thy  right  hand.  In  this  psalm  it  is  evident,  verse  1, 
that  nirT"  is  the  title  of  God  the  Father,  and  so  again,  verse  4,  and 
■•JIN  of  the  Messiah  God  the  Sou,  in  respect  of  that  dignity,  and  do- 
minion, and  regal  power,  to  which  he  was  to  be  exalted  at  his  ascension, 
that  '  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow.'  This  is  expressed, 
verse  1,  by  his  '  sitting  at  God's  right  hand,'  for  which  the  Apostle, 
1  Cor.  XV.  25,  reads,  '  It  must  be  that  he  reign.'  By  this  it  is  evident 
that,  in  this  verse,  'The  Lord  at  thy  right  hand,'  must  be  understood  of 
the  Messiah  instated  in  his  regal  power  at  the  right  hand  of  his  Father, 
and  not  of  the  Father  as  his  7roip»(XTa.ryi;^  to  back  and  help  him,  as  Psaini 
xvi.  8,  and  elsewliere,  the  phrase  is  used.  For  of  the  Son  thus  exalted 
we  know  it  is  that  we  read  John  v.  22,  that '  the  Father  has  committed  all 
judgment  to  the  Son.'  Agreeable  to  which  it  is  that  this  '  Adonai,'  or 
'  Lord  at  Jehovah's  right  hand  here,  shall  strike  through  kings  in  the 
day  of  his  wrath  ;'  i.  e.,  shall  act  revenges  most  severely  on  the  opposers 
of  his  kingdom  ;  which  revenges,  in  the  New  Testament,  are  peculiarly 


308  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CX. 

6.  He  shall  judge  among  the  heathen,  he  shall  fill  all  with  ruins  ; 

he  shall  break  the  head  over  a  great  country. 

7.  He  shall  drink  of  the  torrent  in  the  way,  and  therefore  shall 

he  elevate  his  head  on  high. 

5.  The  Lord  at  thy  right  hand.  In  these  words  David 
celebrates  the  dreadful  nature  of  that  power  which  Christ 
possesses  for  the  dispersion  and  destruction  of  his  enemies  ; 
and  by  this  means  he  affirms,  that  though  encompassed  by 
bands  of  deadly  foes,  yet  their  malignant  attempts  would  not 
prevent  God  from  upholding  the  King  whom  he  has  set  up. 
It  is  proper  to  consider  the  expression,  in  the  day  of  his  wrath, 
by  which  we  are  instructed  patiently  to  endure  the  cross,  if 
it  happen  that  God,  for  a  time,  conceals  himself  during  the 
prevalence  of  the  cruelty  and  fury  of  enemies ;  for  he  knows 
well  when  the  full  and  fit  season  arrives  for  executing 
vengeance  upon  them.  Next,  he  invests  Christ  with  power 
over  the  nations,  and  the  people  of  uncircumcised  lips ; 
meaning,  that  he  was  not  chosen  King  to  reign  over  the 
inhabitants  of  Judea  only,  but  also  to  keep  under  his  sway 
distant  nations,  agreeably  to  what  was  predicated  of  him  in 
Psalm  ii.  8.  And  because,  in  all  parts  of  the  earth,  as  well 
as  in  the  confines  of  Judea,  there  would  be  many  rebellious 
and  disobedient  persons,  he  adverts  also  to  their  destruction  ; 
thus  intimating,  that  all  who  should  set  themselves  In  opposi- 
tion to  Christ,  must  be  made  to  fall  before  him,  and  their 
obstinacy  be  subdued. 

7.  He  shall  drink.  Not  a  few  interpreters,  in  my 
opinion,  expound  this  verse  in  a  very  harsh  manner :  that  the 
carnage  would  be  so  great,  as  to  cause  the  blood  of  the  slain 
to  flow  in  torrents,  out  of  which  Christ,  the  Conqueror,  might 

attributed  to  Christ,  and  called  '  the  coming  of  the  Son  of  Man,  coming 
in  the  clouds,  coming  with  his  angels,  and  the  approaching  or  coming  of 
his  kingdom.' " — Hammond.  In  this  5th  verse  the  Psalmist  makes  a 
sudden  apostrophe  to  Jehovah.  Horsley  is  much  inclined  to  indulge  in 
a  conjecture,  which  Dr  Keunicott,  too,  seems  to  have  entertained,  that 
the  word  ninS  Jehovah,  has  been  lost  out  of  the  text  after  the  original 
word  for  at  thy  right  hand ;  and  that  the  passage  should  run  thus  :  "  The 
Lord  at  thy  right  hand,  O  Jehovah  ! " 


PSALM  ex.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  309 

drink  till  he  was  satiated.^  Akin  to  this  is  the  exposition  of 
those  who  would  have  it  to  be  a  figurative  representation  of 
misery  and  grief,  and  thus  descriptive  of  the  many  afflictions 
to  which  Christ  was  liable  during  this  transitory  life.  The 
similitude  seems  rather  to  be  drawn  from  the  conduct  of  brave 
and  powerful  generals,  who,  when  in  hot  pursuit  of  the  enemy, 
do  not  suffer  themselves  to  be  diverted  from  their  purpose  by 
attending  to  luxuries  ;  but,  without  kneeling  down,  are  con- 
tent to  quench  their  thirst  by  drinking  of  the  stream  which 
they  are  passing.  It  was  in  this  way  that  Gideon  found  out 
the  brave  and  warlike  soldiers;  regarding  such  as  kneeled 
down  to  drink  as  destitute  of  courage,  he  sent  them  back  to 
their  homes,  Judges  vii.  5.  It  therefore  appears  to  me  that 
David  figuratively  attributes  military  prowess  to  Christ, 
declaring  that  he  would  not  take  time  to  refresh  himself,  but 
would  hastily  drink  of  the  river  which  might  come  in  his 
way.^  This  is  designed  to  strike  his  enemies  with  terror, 
intimating  to  them  the  rapid  approach  of  impending  destruc- 
tion. Should  any  one  be  disposed  to  ask,  Where  then  is 
that  spirit  of  meekness  and  gentleness  with  which  the  Scrip- 
ture elsewhere  informs  us  he  shall  be  endued  ?  Isaiah  xlii. 

'  This  opinion  is  held  by  Michaelis  and  Doederlein.  But  although 
a  fearful  carnage  of  God's  and  his  people's  enemies  is  sometimes  poeti- 
cally describecl  by  His  arrows  being  made  drunk  with  blood,  Deut. 
xxxii.  42 ;  and  as  producing  a  stream  of  blood,  in  which  his  people, 
victorious  over  them,  might  dip  or  wash  their  feet,  as  in  Psalm  Ixviii.  24  ; 
yet  neither  He  nor  they  are  said  to  drink  such  blood.  There  is  a  great 
difference  between  this  latter  and  the  two  preceding  metaphors ;  and 
we  cannot  think  that  the  idea  of  drinking  human  blood,  much  less  of 
making  God  drink  it,  would  have  entered  the  mind  of  any  Israelite. 
The  idea  is  abhorrent  to  human  nature,  and  must  have  appeared  parti- 
cularly shocking  to  the  Jews,,  wlio  were  strictly  prohibited  by  the  laws 
of  Moses  from  eating  even  the  blood  of  beasts. 

^  Similar  is  the  opinion  of  Grotius.  He  regards  the  words  as  con- 
taining a  description  of  a  strenuous  and  active  warrior,  whom  no  obstacle 
can  prevent  from  prosecuting  victory  with  the  utmost  ardour  ;  "  who," 
to  use  his  own  language,  "  when  pursuing  the  enemy,  does  not  seek  for 
places  of  entertainment,  that  he  may  refresh  himself  with  wine,  but  is 
contented  with  water,  which  he  takes  hastily  in  passing ;  and  whenever 
he  can  find  it,  not  only  from  a  river,  but  from  a  torrent."  "  Schnurrer," 
says  RosenmuUer,  "  seems  to  have  perceived  the  true  meaning  of  the 
verse,  which  he  gives  in  the  following  words: — '  Though  fatigued  with 
the  slaughter  of  his  enemies,  yet  will  he  not  desist ;  but,  having  refreshed 
himself  with  water  taken  from  the  nearest  stream,  will  exert  his  reno- 
vated strength  in  the  pursuit  of  the  routed  foe.* " — Messianic  Psalms, 
p.  284. 


310  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXI. 

2,  3  ;  Ixi.  1,  2  ;  I  answer,  that,  as  a  shepherd  is  gentle  towards 
his  flock,  but  fierce  and  formidable  towards  wolves  and  thieves; 
in  like  manner,  Christ  is  kind  and  gentle  towards  those  who 
commit  themselves  to  his  care,  while  they  who  wilfully  and 
obstinately  reject  his  yoke,  shall  feel  with  what  awful  and 
terrible  power  he  is  armed.  In  Psalm  ii.  9,  we  saw  that  he 
had  in  his  hand  an  iron  sceptre,  by  which  he  will  beat  down 
all  the  obduracy  of  his  enemies  ;  and,  accordingly,  he  is  here 
said  to  assume  the  aspect  of  cruelty,  with  the  view  of  taking 
vengeance  upon  them.  Wherefore  it  becomes  us  carefully 
to  refrain  from  provoking  his  wrath  against  us  by  a  stiff-necked 
and  rebellious  spirit,  when  he  is  tenderly  and  sweetly  inviting 
us  to  come  to  him. 


PSALM  CXI.' 

The  title  to  this  psalm  supplies  the  place  of  an  argument ;  and,  that 
others  may  be  induced  to  engage  in  the  praises  of  God,  the  Psalmist 
points  out  the  manner  of  doing  so  by  his  own  example.    Then  he  gives 

'  This  and  the  subsequent  psalms,  to  the  119th,  are  supposed  to  have 
been  sung  by  the  Jews  at  the  celebration  of  the  Passover ;  and  the  subject- 
matter  of  them  Avas  peculiarly  adapted  to  such  a  purpose.  "  From  the 
111th  to  the  118th  i)salm,  inclusive,"  says  Jebb,  in  his  recent  work  on 
the  Psalms,  "  we  find  very  interesting  marks  of  a  ceremonial  which,  tra- 
dition asserts,  was  observed  by  the  Jews  at  the  eating  of  the  Passover, 
namely,  the  singing  of  the  Gospel  Hallel — that  hymn,  in  all  likelihood, 
w^hich  our  blessed  Lord  sang  with  his  disciples  after  the  Last  Supper. 
Dr  Lightfoot  informs  us  that  there  is  considerable  discrepancy  of  opinion 
among  the  Jews  as  to  what  psalms  constituted  the  Greater  Hallel ;  the 
various  opinions  extending  or  contracting  its  range  from  the  113th  to 
the  137th  psalm.  As  usual,  these  traditions  are  uncertain  and  ill  de- 
fined, and  have  more  respect  to  the  arbitrary  dicta  of  the  Rabbins  than 
to  the  internal  evidence  of  Holy  Scripture.  Let  us  now  examine  this 
evidence.  In  the  first  place,  we  are  to  remark,  that  all  the  psalms  (ex- 
cept the  114th  and  118th)  which  precede  the  119th,  have  Hallelujah 
(that  is,  Praise  ye  the  Lord)  cither  prefixed  or  subjoined,  or  both,  Avhile 
those  which  are  without  this  burden  are  in  evident  connection  ;  the  119th 
as  evidently  beginning  a  new  series.  In  the  absence,  then,  of  anj'  con- 
sistent testimony,  it  seems  fair  to  assume,  that  this  group  of  psalms 
formed  the  Greater  Hallel,  the  sentiment  they  contain  being  singularly 
applicable  to  the  festival, — to  the  great  deliverance  from  Egypt,  which  it 
celebrated,  and  to  the  second  delivery  from  Babylon,  which  so  strongly 
resembled  i^    According  to  Dr  Lightfoot,  the  113th  and  114th  psalms 


PSALM  CXI.        THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  311 

a  short  account  of  the  mauifold  benefits  which,  in  olden  times,  he  con- 
ferred upon  the  faithful,  and  is  daily  conferring  upon  them.  The 
psalm  is  composed  in  alphabetical  order,  each  verse  containing  two 
letters.  The  first  verse  begins  with  Xi  oleph^  while  the  letter  2,  hetli^ 
is  placed  at  the  commencement  of  the  next  half  of  the  verse.  The 
last  two  verses  only  are  not  divided  into  hemistiches  ;  but  each  of  these 
lias  three  letters.  If,  however,  any  one  will  closely  examine  the  con- 
tents, he  will  find  that  this  has  occurred  through  mistake  or  inadver- 
tence ;  for  if  we  make  these  two  verses  into  three, •  the  construction  of 
the  sentences  corresponds  very  well  one  with  another ;  and,  conse- 
quently, the  transcribers  have  erred  in  not  attending  to  the  prophet's 
distinction. 


1.  Praise  ye  Jehovah.^  (h,  aleph,)  I  will  praise  Jehovah  with  my 

vyhole  heart,  (2,  beth,)  in  the  congregation  and  assembly  of 
the  just. 

2.  (j,  gimel,)  The  works  of  Jehovahare  great,  ("j,  daletb,)  sought 

out  of  all  who  have  a  desire  to  them. 

3.  (n,  he,)  His  work  is  beautiful  and  magnificent  :  {),  vau,)  and 

his  justice  endiireth  for  ever. 

4.  (t,  zain,)  He  hath  caused  his  marvellous  works  to  be  remem^ 

bered  :  (n,  chetli,)  Jehovah  is  compassionate  and  merciful. 

1.  /  will  praise  Jehovah.  The  best  and  most  efficient 
metliod  of  inculcating  the  performance  of  any  duty  is  to  be 
exemplary ;  and,  accordingly,  we  find  that  the  prophet,  in  the 
present  instance,  sets  himself  for  an  example,  to  lead  others 
to  engage  in  the  celebration  of  God's  praises.    His  resolution 

were  sung  at  one  period  of  the  feast,  at  the  second  cup ;  and  after  the 
fourth  cup,  the  other  psalms,  namely,  the  115th  to  the  118th,  inclusive  ; 
and  here  the  feast  ordinarily  ended.  They  thus  held  the  place  of  grace 
before  or  after  meat ;  and  this  division  is  very  consistent,  the  latter 
psalms  being  more  evidently  Eucharistical." — Jebb's  Literal  Translation 
of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  with  Dissertations,  vol.  ii.  pp.  269-271- 

^  "  These  two  verses,"  says  Dr  Geddcs,  "  might  just  as  well  have 
made  tliree,  and  then  the  whole  of  both  psalms  would  be  regular."  Ac- 
cording to  Jerome,  this  is  the  first  psalm  that  is  exactly  alphabetical,  the 
rest  of  this  description,  which  precede  it,  being  only  nearly  so. 

2  The  Hebrew  for  Praise  ye  Jehovah  is  Hallelujah.  This  is  probably 
the  title,  and  no  part  of  the  psalm  itself.  The  alphabetical  construction 
of  the  poem  seems  to  confirm  this  opinion.  It  is  acrostic,  and  begins 
with  aleph,  and  each  succeeding  hemistich  commences  with  the  other 
letters  of  the  alphabet  in  order ;  but  Avere  Hallelujah,  which  begins  with 
the  fifth  letter  of  the  alphabet,  answering  to  our  H,  the  first  word  of  the 
psalm,  that  would  destroy  its  perfectly  alphabetical  cliaracter. 


312  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXI. 

to  praise  God  consists  of  two  parts ;  that  he  would  celebrate 
God's  pivaises  unfeignedly,  with  all  his  heart,  and  that  he 
would  do  it  publicly,  in  the  assembly  of  the  faithful.  He  very 
properly  begins  with  heart-praise,  because  it  is  much  better  to 
praise  in  secret,  and  when  no  one  is  conscious  of  it,  than  to 
lift  up  our  voice,  and  shout  forth  his  praises  with  feigned 
lips.  At  the  same  time,  the  person  who,  in  secret,  pours  out 
his  heart  in  grateful  emotions  towards  God,  will  also  set 
forth  his  praises  in  swelling  strains,  otherwise  God  would  be 
deprived  of  one  half  of  the  honour  which  is  due  to  him.  The 
prophet  then  determines  to  jDraise  God  with  the  whole  heart, 
that  is,  with  an  upright  and  honest  heart  ;  not  that  he 
engages  to  come  up  to  the  full  measure  of  his  duty,  but  he 
declares  that  he  would  not  be  like  the  hypocrites,  who,  coldly 
and  with  a  double  heart,  or  rather  guilefully  and  perfidiously, 
employ  their  lips  only  in  the  praises  of  God.  This  is  a  point 
worthy  of  notice,  lest  any  should  be  discouraged,  in  conse- 
quence of  not  being  able  to  cherish  the  hope  of  attaining  to 
that  perfection  of  heart  which  is  so  desirable ;  for  however 
defective  our  praises  may  be,  they  may  nevertheless  be 
acceptable  to  God,  provided  only  we  strive  unfeignedly  to 
render  unto  him  this  act  of  devotion.  We  come  now  to  the 
other  part  of  his  resolution,  in  which  he  says  he  would  pro- 
claim the  praises  of  God  before  men  ;  for  although  the 
Hebrew  term  IID,  sod,  denotes  a  private  assembly,^  yet  I 
think  that,  in  this  passage,  he  employs  two  words  of  synony- 
mous import.  At  the  same  time,  should  any  one  be  inclined 
to  take  a  more  refined  view  of  the  passage,  he  may  do  so  if 
he  please.  He  says,  in  the  congregation  of  the  just,  because 
the  principal  object  for  which  holy  assemblies  are  convened, 

^  "  Aben  Ezra  and  others  tliink  that  ^-\'t^  is  put  in  opposition  to  "jtD) 
which  denotes  a  more  secret  assembly;  and  so  the  verse,  they  say, 
means,  in  substance,  as  follows :  '  I  will  praise  the  Lord  with  all  my 
heart,  both  privately  and  publicly.'  This,  however,  I  think  can  scarcely 
be  the  sense  :  it  is  much  more  likely  that  tid  is  here  employed  to 
express  a  congregation  of  Israelites ;  because  the  rest  of  the  world  was 
excluded  from  such  assembly,  and  so  far  it  partook  of  the  character  of 
private  or  secret.  This  is  the  view  taken  by  Luther,  whose  paraphrase 
of  this  verse  is  as  follows :  '  I  thank  the  Lord  here  in  this  public  assem- 
bly, where  we  (Israelites)  meet  one  another  as  in  private  counsel,  and 
where  no  heathen  nor  strangers  can  be  present.' " — Phillips. 


PSALM  CXI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  313 

is  to  afford  the  worshippers  of  God  an  opportunity  of  pre- 
senting to  him  sacrifices  of  praise,  agreeably  to  what  is  stated 
in  Psalm  Ixv.  1,  "  Praise  waits  for  thee,  O  Jehovah  !  in  Zion." 

2.  Tlie  works  of  Jehovah  are  great.  He  now  proceeds  to 
inform  us  that  there  are  abundant  materials  for  praising  God, 
supplied  by  his  works,  to  which  at  present  he  makes  only  a 
general  reference,  and  which  he,  subsequently,  defines  more 
explicitly  in  relation  to  the  government  of  the  Church.  The 
magnitude  of  God's  works  is  a  subject  which,  generally, 
eludes  the  observation  of  men,  and,  therefore,  few  of  them 
are  acquainted  with  it.  This  ignorance  the  prophet  ascribes 
to  the  indifference  and  ingratitude  of  men,  comparatively  few 
of  whom  condescend  to  notice  the  great  wisdom,  goodness, 
justice,  and  power,  which  shine  forth  in  these  works.  Expo- 
sitors are  divided  in  their  sentiments  about  the  second  clause 
of  the  verse.  Some  translate  it,  sought  out  for  all  their 
delights;  and,  indeed,  the  Hebrew  term  V^T],  chajohets,  signifies 
good  pleasure ;  but  as  this  is  too  harsh  an  interpretation  of 
the  word,  it  is  better  to  understand  it  as  an  adjective, 
expressing  the  idea  of  loving  or  desiring.  As  to  the  participle, 
sought  out,  which,  according  to  the  Hebrew  verb,  ^11,  darash, 
properly  denotes,  to  search  with  diligence,  we  yet  find  that  the 
works  of  Jehovah  are,  in  this  place,  called  D''IIJ'l"n,  derushim, 
that  is,  perceived  or  found  out.  Hence,  in  Isaiah  Ixv.  1,  it  is 
said,  "  I  was  found  of  them  who  sought  me  not."  I  must, 
however,  not  lose  sight  of  the  prophet's  design,  namely,  that 
in  consequence  of  so  few  applying  themselves  to  the  study  of 
the  works  of  God,  he  teaches  us  that  that  is  the  reason  why 
so  many  are  blind  amidst  a  flood  of  light ;  for,  when  he 
says  that  the  excellency  of  the  works  of  God  is  known  to  all 
who  desire  it,  he  means  that  none  are  ignorant  of  it,  except 
such  as  are  wilfully  blind,  or  rather,  malignantly  and  con- 
temptuously quench  the  light  which  is  offered  to  them. 
We  must,  however,  attend  to  the  means  which  we  possess 
for  arriving  at  the  knowledge  of  these  works,  because  we 
know,  that  as  long  as  the  faithful  are  on  earth,  their  under- 
standings are  dull  and  weak,  so  that  they  cannot  penetrate 
the  mysteries,  or  comprehend  the  height  of  the  works  of  God. 


314  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXI. 

But,  incomprehensible  as  is  the  immensity  of  the  wisdom, 
equity,  justice,  power,  and  mercy  of  God,  in  his  works,  the 
faithful  nevertheless  acquire  as  much  knowledge  of  these  as 
qualifies  them  for  manifesting  the  glory  of  God ;  only  it 
becomes  us  to  begin  the  study  of  his  works  with  reverence, 
that  we  may  take  delight  in  them,  contemptible  though  they 
be  in  the  estimation  of  the  reprobate,  who  ti'eat  them  with 
impious  scorn.  The  LXX.  having  rendered  it,  sought  out 
in  all  his  wills,  Augustine  has  therefore  taken  occasion, 
Avith  philosophic  finesse,  to  ask.  How  can  there  be,  or,  at 
least,  appear  to  be,  a  plurality  of  wills  in  God  ?  And  it  is 
indeed  a  pleasing  consideration,  that  though  God  manifest 
his  will  in  his  law,  nevertheless  there  is  another  secret  pur- 
pose by  which  he  is  guided  in  the  wonderful  management  of 
human  affairs.  This  doctrine,  however,  is  foreign  to  the 
exposition  of  this  passage. 

3.  His  work  is  heautiful.  Others  render  it  splendour. 
The  meaning  of  the  clause  is  this,  That  every  act  of  God  is 
replete  with  glorious  majesty.  In  the  following  part  of  the 
verse  he  specifies  more  clearly  in  what  this  beauty  and  magnifi- 
cence consist,  by  stating  that  the  justice  of  God  is  everywhere 
conspicuous.  It  is  not  the  design  of  God  to  furnish  us  with 
such  a  display  of  his  power  and  sovereignty  in  his  works, 
as  miglit  only  fill  our  minds  with  terror,  but  he  also  gives 
us  a  display  of  his  justice  in  a  manner  so  inviting  as  to 
captivate  our  hearts.  This  commendation  of  the  woi'ks  and 
ways  of  God  is  introduced  in  opposition  to  the  clamour 
and  calumny  of  the  ungodly,  by  which  they  impiously 
endeavour,  to  the  utmost  extent  of  their  power,  to  disfigure 
and  deface  the  glory  of  the  Avorks  of  God.  In  the  next  verse, 
he  more  especially  extols  the  wonderful  works  in  Avhich  God 
has  principally  set  forth  his  power.  To  cause  his  marvellous 
works  to  he  remembered,  is  equivalent  to  the  doing  of  works 
worthy  of  being  remembered,  or  the  renown  of  which  shall 
continue  for  ever.'     And  having  above  called  upon  us  to 


^  "  nCJ'y  ")DT-    He  hath  made  a  memorial  for  himself  in  his  wonderful 
works.    13 J,  the  same  as  p-)3|  in  Numb.  xvii.  5.    So  the  LXX.,  in 


PSALM  CXI.       THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  315 

contemplate  his  justice,  now.  In  like  manner,  and  almost  in 
like  terms,  he  celebrates  the  grace  and  mercy  of  God,  prin- 
cipally in  relation  to  his  works,  because  that  justice  which 
he  displays  in  the  preservation  and  protection  of  his  people, 
issues  from  the  source  of  his  unmerited  favour  which  he  bears 
towards  them. 

5.  (o.  teth,)  He  hath  given  a  portion  to  them  that  fear  him  : 

(\  yod,)  he  will  remember  his  covenant  for  ever. 

6.  (a,  caph,)  He  hath  declared  to  his  people  the  power  of  his 

works,  Cp,  lamed,)  to  give  the  heritage  of  the  heathen  to  them. 

7.  {'0,  mem,)  The  works  of  his  hands  are  truth  and  judgment ; 

(j,  nun,)  all  his  statutes  are  true. 

8.  (D,  samech,)  They  are  established  for  ever,  (y,  aiu,)  and  are 

done  in  truth  and  righteousness. 

5.  He  hath  given  a  portion  to  them  that  fear  him.  The 
Church  being  a  mirror  of  the  grace  and  justice  of  God,  what 
the  prophet  said  respecting  them  is  here  expressly  applied  to 
her;  not  that  he  designs  to  treat  of  the  justice  of  God,  in 
general,  but  only  of  that  which  he  peculiarly  displays  towai'ds 
his  own  people.  Hence  he  adds,  that  God's  care  of  his 
people  is  such  as  to  lead  him  to  make  ample  provision  for 
the  supply  of  all  their  wants.  The  word  ft'^tDj  tereph,  which 
we  have  translated  portion,  is  frequently  taken  for  a  prey :  * 
others  render  it  meat;  but  I  rather  choose  to  render  it  pov' 
tioni  in  which  sense  it  is  taken  in  Pro  v.  xxx.  8,  and  xxxi.  15  ; 
as  if  he  should  say,  that  God  had  given  his  people  all  that 
was  needful,  and  that,  considered  as  a  portion,  it  was  large 


Exod.  xvii.  14,  render  i^f  by  ouo^oi,  name;  accordingly,  nc^'y  "iDT  may 
signify,  He  hath  made  himself  a  name;  i.  e.,  His  wonderful  works  will 
exist  as  memorials  of  liis  name." — Phillips. 

^  "  Given  meat — Heb.,  'Prey;'  i.  e.,  food.  Some  think  this  refers  to 
the  manna  rained  upon  Israel  in  the  wilderness  ;  we  should  rather  think, 
to  the  quails.  See  Ps.  cv.  ^0.^^— Williams.  "  fjiLD-  This  word  is  usually 
translated  preij.,  and  the  passage  is  thought,  by  some,  to  refer  to  the 
spoiling  of  the  Egyptians  b}'  the  Israelites,  mentioned  in  Exod.  xii.  36. 
It  is,  however,  mure  probable  that  f|-)t3  signifies  Xxax^fuod,  and  that  allu- 
sion is  made  to  the  manna  with  which  the  chddren  of  Israel  were  fed  in 
the  wilderness.  See  Prov.  xxxi.  15  ;  Mai.  iii.  10.  The  first  hemistich 
is  the  consequence  of  what  is  stated  in  the  second ;  i.  e.,  because  God 
remembered  his  covenant,  therefore  he  gave  food  to  them  who  fear  him." 
— Phillips. 


316  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSAX,M  CXI. 

and  liberal ;  for  we  know  that  the  people  of  Israel  were 
enriched,  not  in  consequence  of  their  own  industry,  but  by 
the  blessing  of  God,  who,  like  the  father  of  a  family,  bestows 
upon  his  household  every  thing  necessary  for  their  subsist- 
ence. In  the  following  clause  of  the  verse,  he  assigns  as  the 
reason  for  his  care  and  kindness,  his  desire  of  effectually 
demonstratino;  that  his  covenant  was  not  null  and  void. 
And  here  it  must  be  carefully  observed,  that  if,  in  former 
times,  and  from  a  respect  to  his  gracious  covenant,  he  mani- 
fested so  great  kindness  towards  the  people  of  Israel,  in  like 
manner,  the  goodness  which  we  receive  from  him  is  the  result 
of  our  adoption  into  his  family  ;  and  because  God  is  never 
weary  in  showing  kindness  to  his  people,  he  says  that  the 
remembrance  of  his  covenant  shall  never  be  effaced.  More- 
over, as  he  daily  and  constantly  loads  us  with  his  benefits, 
so  our  faith  must,  in  some  measure,  correspond  with  it :  it 
must  not  fail,  but  must  rise  above  life  and  death. 

The  next  verse  is  subjoined,  by  way  of  exposition,  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  that  God,  in  bestowing  upon  his  people  the 
heritage  of  the  heathen,  had  manifested  to  them  the  power  of 
his  works.  He  does  indeed  employ  the  term  show,  but  he  means 
a  true  showing ;  because  the  possession  of  the  Holy  Land 
was  not  acquired  by  mere  human  power,  but  it  was  given  to 
them  by  Divine  power,  and  through  the  working  of  many 
miracles ;  and  thus  God,  as  it  were,  openly  testified  to  the 
descendants  of  Abraham  with  what  incomparable  power  he 
is  invested.  It  is  on  this  account  that  he  sets  up  the  people 
of  Israel  as  a  match  for^  so  many  other  nations,  who  would 
assuredly  never  have  vanquished  so  many  enemies,  unless 
they  had  been  sustained  from  on  high. 

7.  The  works  of  his  hands.  In  the  first  clause  of  the 
verse  he  exclaims  that  God  is  known  to  be  faithful  and 
upright  in  his  works,  and  then  he  goes  on  to  extol  the  same 
truth  and  rectitude  as  pervading  the  doctrine  of  the  law  ;  the 
amount  of  which  is,  that  a  beautiful  harmony  characterises 
all  the  sayings  and  doings  of  God,  because  every  where  he 
shows  himself  to  be  just  and  faithful.  We  have  a  memorable 
proof  of  this  fact  in  the  redemption  of  his  ancient  people. 


PSALM  CXI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  317 

Yet  I  doubt  not,  that,  under  the  term,  works,  the  pro- 
phet comprehends  the  constant  government  of  the  Church  ; 
because  God  daily  and  unceasingly  shows  that  he  is  just  and 
true,  and  unweariedly  pursues  the  same  course.  Among  men 
it  is  reckoned  to  be  of  more  importance  for  one  to  be  found 
just  in  practice  than  in  profession  ;  yet,  as  the  doctrine  of 
the  law  W'as  the  very  life  and  safety  of  the  people,  the  pro- 
phet very  properly,  and  in  several  expressions,  dwells  upon 
the  sentiment  contained  in  the  second  clause  of  the  verse  ; 
saying,  all  his  statutes  are  true,  they  are  established  for  ever, 
and  are  draion  up  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  strict  law  of 
truth  and  equity.  And  assuredly,  but  for  God's  having 
kept  the  people  imited  to  him  by  the  sacred  chain  of  the 
law,  the  fruit  of  their  redemption  would  have  been  very 
small,  and  even  that  benefit  would  have  soon  been  lost  by 
them.  We  ought  to  observe,  then,  that  this  subject  is 
brought  prominently  forward  in  this  place ;  because,  in 
attesting  the  eternal  love  of  God,  it  became  the  means  of 
imparting  life. 

9.  (d,  phe,)  He  sent  redemption  to  his  people;  (^,  tzaddi,)  he 
hath  commanded  his  covenant  for  ever :  (p,  koph,)  holt/  and 
terrible  is  his  name. 
10.  ("I,  resh,)  The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom : 
(B>,  schin,)  good  xmderstanding  have  all  they  who  do  these 
things:  (n,  tau,)  his  praise  endureth  for  ever. 

9.  He  sent  redemption  to  his  people.  What  he  had  already 
stated  is  here  repeated  in  different  words.  And  as  the 
deliverance  of  his  people  was  the  commencement  of  their 
salvation,  it  is  first  introduced  ;  next  is  subjoined  its  con- 
firmation in  the  law,  by  reason  of  which  it  comes  to  pass  that 
God's  adoption  could  never  fail.  For  though,  long  prior  to 
this,  God  had  established  his  covenant  with  Abraham,  which 
also  vvas  the  occasion  of  the  redemption  of  the  people  ;  yet 
what  is  here  mentioned  refers  exclusively  to  the  law,  by 
which  the  covenant  was  ratified,  never  to  be  disannulled. 
The  amount  is,  that,  in  the  deliverance  of  the  people,  God 
did  not  act  the  part  of  a  beneficial  father,  merely  for  a  day, 
but  that,  in  the  promulgation  of  the  law,  he  also  established 


318  -  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXI. 

his  grace,  that  the  hope  of  eternal  life  might  continue  for 
ever  in  the  Church.  Moreover,  you  must  attend  carefully  to 
■what  I  have  elsewhere  cautioned  you  against,  and  to  vrhich 
I  shall  advert  more  at  length  on  Psalm  cxix,,  where  the  law 
is  spoken  of,  That  the  commandments  must  not  be  taken 
always  abstractly,  for  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  an  especial  manner, 
refers  to  the  promises  which  are  in  Christ,  by  which  God,  in 
gathering  his  chosen  people  to  himself,  hath  begotten  them 
again  to  eternal  life. 

10.  Tlie  fear  of  Jehovah.  Having  treated  of  the  kind- 
ness of  God,  and  paid  a  well-merited  tribute  to  the  law,  the 
prophet  goes  on  to  exhort  the  faithful  to  reverence  God,  and 
be  zealous  in  the  keeping  of  the  law.  In  calling  thenar  of  God, 
The  beginning  or  source  of  wisdom,  he  charges  with  folly  those 
who  do  not  render  implicit  obedience  unto  God.  As  if  he 
should  say.  They  who  fear  not  God,  and  do  not  regulate  their 
lives  according  to  his  law,  are  brute  beasts,  and  are  ignorant 
of  the  first  elements  of  true  wisdom.  To  this  we  must  care- 
fully attend ;  for  although  mankind  generally  wish  to  be 
accounted  wise,  almost  all  the  w^orld  lightly  esteem  God,  and 
take  pleasure  in  their  own  wicked  craftiness.  And  as  the 
very  worst  of  men  are  reputed  to  be  superior  to  all  others  in 
point  of  wisdom  ;  and,  puffed  up  with  this  confidence,  harden 
themselves  against  God,  the  prophet  declares  all  the  wisdom 
of  the  world,  without  the  fear  of  God,  to  be  vanity  or  an 
empty  shadow.  And,  indeed,  all  who  are  ignorant  of  the 
purpose  for  which  they  live  are  fools  and  madmen.  But  to 
serve  God  is  the  purpose  for  which  we  have  been  born,  and 
for  which  we  are  preserved  in  life.  There  is,  therefore,  no 
worse  blindness,  no  insensibility  so  grovelling,  as  when  we 
contemn  God,  and  place  our  affections  elsewhere.  For  what- 
ever ingenuity  the  wicked  may  possess,  they  are  destitute  of 
the  main  thing,  genuine  piety.  To  the  same  effect  are  the 
words  wdiich  immediately  follow,  a  good  understanding  have 
all  they  who  keep  God's  commandments.  There  is  great 
emphasis  upon  the  qualifying  adjunct  ^"ItO?  toh ;  because  the 
prophet,  in  inveighing  against  the  foolish  opinion  to  which 
we  have  already  adverted,  tacitly  condemns  those  who  delight 


rSALM  CXI.  THE  BOOK  or  PSALMS.  319 

in  their  own  wicked  craftiness.  His  meaning  is,  I  admit, 
that  they  are  usually  deemed  wise  who  look  well  to  their  own 
interests,  who  can  pursue  a  temporising  policy,  who  have  the 
acuteness  and  artifice  of  preserving  the  favourable  opinion  of 
the  world,  and  Avho  even  practise  deception  upon  others.  But 
even  were  I  to  grant  that  this  character  belongs  to  them,  yet 
is  their  wisdom  unprofitable  and  perverse,  because  true  wis- 
dom manifests  itself  in  the  observance  of  the  law.  Next  he 
substitutes  the  keepiyig  of  God's  commandments  for  the  fear  of 
God.  For  though  all  men,  without  exception,  boast  that  they 
fear  God,  yet  nothing  is  more  common  than  for  them  to  live 
in  the  neglect  of  his  law.  Hence  the  prophet  very  properly 
inculcates  upon  us  the  voluntary  assumption  of  his  yoke,  and 
submission  to  the  regulations  of  his  word,  as  the  most  satis- 
factory evidence  of  our  living  in  the  fear  of  God.  The  terra 
beginning '  has  misled  some,  leading  them  to  imagine  that  the 
fear  of  God  was  denominated  the  entrance  of  wisdom,  as  it 
were  the  alphabet,  because  it  prepares  men  for  true  piety. 
Such  an  opinion  is  scarcely  deserving  of  notice,  seeing  that, 
in  Job  xxviii.  28,  it  is  called  "  wisdom."  In  this  passage ^ear 
is  not  to  be  understood  as  referring  to  the  first  or  elementary 
principles  of  piety,  as  in  1  John  iv.  1 8,  but  is  comprehensive 
of  all  true  godliness,  or  the  worship  of  God.  The  conclusion 
of  the  psalm  requires  no  explanation  ;  it  being  the  object  of 
the  prophet  simply  to  inculcate  upon  the  faithful,  that  nothing 
is  more  profitable  for  them,  than  to  spend  their  lives  in  the 
celebration  of  the  praises  of  God. 

1  "  The  beginning^ — the  word,  so  translated,  also  signifies  the  prime, 
the  chief  part^  the  perfection ;  a  sense  which  it  may  very  well  bear  in  this 
place  :  comp.  Deut.  x.  12  ;  Job  xxviii.  28  ;  Prov.  i.  7,  ix.  10" — Cress- 
ivell.  "•  n''EJ'X"l-  Ihis  word  may  signify,  the  first  in  time,  and  so  it  may 
denote  the  foundation  of  any  thing  ;  hence  the  meaning  of  the  Psalmist 
here  is,  that  the  foundation  of  all  wisdom  is  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  But 
ri^K'KT  has  also  the  sense  of  being  first  in  dignity,  as  well  as  in  order  of 
time  ;  thus  n?D3n  n''£^•J<'^,  wisdom  is  the  ciiief  thing,  Prov.  iv.  7.  Here  it 
may  be  understood  in  the  same  manner ;  i.  e.,  the  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the 
chief  wisdom." — Phillips. 


320  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXII. 


PSALM  CXII. 

As  the  majority  of  mankind  expect  to  prosper  by  evil  deeds,  and  as  they 
generally  endeavour  to  enrich  themselves  by  plunder,  fraud,  and  every 
species  of  injustice,  the  prophet  enumerates  the  blessings  of  God  which 
attend  those  who  worship  him  in  purity,  in  order  that  we  may  know 
that,  in  aiming  at  a  life  of  piety  and  morality,  we  shall  not  lose  our 
reward.^ 

1.  Praise  ye  Jehovah.    Blessed  is  the  man  that  fear  eth  Jehovah; 

he  will  greatly  delight  in  his  commandments. 

2.  His  seed  shall  he  powerful  in  the  earth  :^  the  generation  of  the 

righteous  shall  he  blessed. 

3.  Wealth  and  riches  shall  be  in  his  house  :  and  his  righteousness 

endureth  for  ever. 

1.  Blessed  is  the  man  that  feareth  Jehovah.  Although  the 
prophet  begins  with  an  exhortation,  he  has,  as  I  have  already 
pointed  out,  something  farther  in  view,  than  simply  the  calling 
upon  the  faithful  to  praise  God.  To  practise  wickedness, 
and  perpetrate  injustice,  is,  in  all  quarters,  accounted  a  great 
happiness ;  and,  although  integrity  may  be  occasionally 
praised,  nevertheless,  there  is  scarcely  one  among  a  hundred 
who  pursues  it,  because  all  imagine  that  they  will  be  miserable 
unless,  by  one  means  or  anothei",  they  seize  as  booty  every 
thing  which  comes  in  their  way.  lu  opposition  to  this,  the 
prophet  tells  us  that  more  advantage  is  to  be  expected  from 
God's  paternal  regard,  than  from  the  inflicting  of  every 
species  of  injury,  and  the  perpetrating  of  every  kind  of  in- 
justice in  our  power  ;  and  by  setting  before  us  the  certain  hope 
of  reward,  he  calls  us  back  to  the  practice  of  equity  and  bene- 
ficence. The  following  is  the  analysis  which  I  give  of  the 
verse  :  Blessed  is  the  man  that  feareth  the  Lord,  and  delighteth 
himself  in  his  commandments ;  and  thus,  by  the  second  clause 

'  This  psalm  is  also  acrostic  or  alphabetical ;  and  the  subject  of  it 
being  only  an  enlargement  upon  the  last  verse  of  the  preceding,  as  Muis 
and  others  have  observed,  the  same  author,  it  is  not  improbable,  composed 

both. 

2  "  In  the  earth,  or  rather,  with  Green,  in  the  land:  as  it  seems  to  mean 
the  land  of  Israel,  to  which  the  promise  of  temporal  blessings  was  limited." 
— Dimock. 


PSALM  CXII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  32 1 

of  the  verse,  the  prophet  specifies  In  what  the  fear  of  God 
consists.  And  that  the  addition  of  this  explanatory  clause  is 
called  for,  is  quite  apparent  from  what  we  remarked  towards 
the  conclusion  of  the  preceding  psalm.  For,  while  the  law 
is  boldly  contemned  by  mankind,  yet  nothing  is  more  com- 
mon than  to  pretend  that  they  fear  God.  Such  impiety  is 
well  refuted  by  the  prophet,  when  he  acknowledges  none  as 
belonging  to  the  worshippers  of  God,  but  he  who  endeavours 
to  keep  his  law.  The  Hebrew  verb  rSPl,  chaphets,  is  rather 
emphatical,  which  is,  as  it  were,  to  take  his  pleasure,  and 
I  have  rendered  to  delight  himself.  For  the  prophet  makes 
a  distinction  between  a  willing  and  prompt  endeavour  to  keep 
the  law,  and  that  which  consists  in  mere  servile  and  con- 
strained obedience.  We  must,  therefore,  cheerfully  embrace 
the  law  of  God,  and  that,  too,  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  love 
of  it,  with  all  its  sweetness,  may  overcome  all  the  allurements 
of  the  flesh,  otherwise,  mere  attention  to  it  will  be  unavailing. 
Hence  a  man  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  genuine  observer  of  the 
law,  until  he  has  attained  to  this — that  the  delight  which  he 
takes  in  the  law  of  God  renders  obedience  agreeable  to  him. 
I  now  resume  the  consideration  of  the  passage  at  large.  The 
prophet,  in  affirming  that  the  worshippers  of  God  are  happy, 
guards  us  against  the  very  dangerous  deception  which  the 
ungodly  practise  upon  themselves,  in  imagining  that  they 
can  reap  a  sort  of  happiness,  I  know  not  what,  from  doing 
evil. 

2.  His  seed  shall  be  -powerful.  For  the  purpose  of  confirming 
the  statement  which  he  advanced  respecting  the  happiness  of 
the  man  that  fears  Jehovah  and  takes  delight  in  his  command- 
ments, the  prophet  enumerates  the  tokens  of  God's  loving- 
kindness,  which  he  is  wont  to  bestow  upon  his  worshippers. 
And,  in  the  first  place,  he  says  that  God's  fatherly  kindness  is 
not  confined  to  their  own  persons,  it  also  extends  to  their  pos- 
terity :  agreeably  to  what  is  said  in  the  law,  "  I  am  merciful 
to  a  thousand  generations,  towards  them  that  love  me  and 
keep  my  commandments,"  Exod.  xxxiv.  7.  And  in  Psalm 
ciii.  8,  9,  and  other  passages,  we  have  formerly  adverted  to 

VOL.  IV.  X 


322  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXU. 

this  doctrinal  statement.     As,  however,  not  a  few  are  disposed 
to  pervert  this  doctrine,  by  applying  it  as  the  standard  ac- 
cording to  which  God  dispenses  his  temporal  favours,  it  is 
therefore  proper  to  bear  in  mind  what  I  have  said  in  Psalm 
xxxvii.  25,  that  these  are  bestowed  according  to  the  manner, 
and  in  the  measure,  which  God  pleases.     Sometimes  it  hap- 
pens that  a  good  man  is  childless ;  and  barrenness  itself  is 
considered  a  curse  of  God.     Again,  many  of  God's  servants 
are  oppressed  with  poverty  and  want,  are  borne  down  under 
the  weight  of  sickness,  and   harassed   and   perplexed  with 
various  calamities.      It  is  therefore  necessary  to  keep  this 
general  principle  in  view.  That  God  sometimes  bestows  his 
bounty  more  profusely,  and,  at  other  times,  more  sparingly, 
upon  his  children,  according  as  he  sees  it  to  be  most  for  their 
good ;  and,  moreover,  he  sometimes  conceals  the  tokens  of 
his  kindness,  apparently  as  if  he  had  no  regard  for  his  people 
at  all.     Still,  amid  this  perplexity,  it  constantly  appears  that 
these  words  were  not  uttered  in  vain,  the  righteous  and  their 
offspring  are  blessed.     God  very  frequently  blasts  the  vain 
hopes  of  the  ungodly,  whose  sole  object  is  to  bear  rule  in  the 
world,  and  to  raise  their  children  to  places  of  wealth  and 
honour.     On  the  other  hand,  as  the  faithful  are  satisfied  with 
bringing  up  their  children  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  contented 
to  live  sparingly,  God,  as  it  were  with  an  outstretched  hand, 
exalts  them  to  honour.     Add  to  this,  that  anciently,  under 
the  law,  the  truth  of  this  doctrine  was  more  evident ;  because 
it  was  requisite  for  a  people  inexperienced  and  feeble,  to  be 
trained  gradually,  by  means  of  temporal  benefits,  to  entertain 
a  better  hope.     And  in  our  times,  but  for  our  vices,  God's 
temporal  kindness  would  shine  more  brightly  upon  us.     For 
experience  demonstrates  that  what  is  immediately  subjoined 
does  not  uniformly  hold  true,  wealth  and  riches  shall  he  in  the 
houses  of  the  righteous.     It  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  for  the 
virtuous  and  holy  to  suffer  hunger,  and  to  be  in  want  even  of  the 
most  homely  fare  ;  and,  for  this  reason,  it  would  not  be  for 
their  good  were  God  to  bestow  more  earthly  benefits  upon 
them.    In  afflicting  circumstances,  numbers  of  them  would  be 
incapable  of  behaving  in  a  manner  becoming  their  profession. 


PSALM  CXII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  323 

In  the  meantime,  we  may  observe,  that  the  grace  which  the 
prophet  commends  appears  principally  in  this,  that  the  good 
and  sincere  are  satisfied  with  their  humble  estate,  whereas  no 
portion,  however  large,  even  to  the  extent  of  the  world  itself, 
will  content  the  ungodly  worldling.  The  old  adage  holds 
true.  That  the  covetous  wants  that  which  he  has,  as  well  as 
that  which  he  has  not ;  because  he  is  master  of  nothing,  and 
is  the  slave  of  his  own  wealth.  In  connection  with  this 
clause  must  also  be  taken  that  which  follows,  the  righteousness 
of  good  men  endureth  for  ever.  This,  in  fact,  constitutes  the 
true  and  proper  difference  between  the  godly  and  ungodly ; 
because  the  latter  may,  for  a  time,  hoard  up  immense  wealth  ; 
yet,  all  that  shall,  according  to  the  words  of  the  prophet, 
*'  suddenly  vanish  away  at  the  blast  of  the  Almighty,"  Haggai 
i.  9.  And  we  daily  see  that  what  has  been  acquired  by 
violence  and  deceit,  becomes  the  prey  and  property  of  others. 
But,  to  the  faithful,  their  integrity  is  the  best  and  surest 
preserver  of  God's  blessings. 

4.  Light  ariseth^  in  darkness  to  the  righteous  :  he  is  gracious, 

merciful,  and  just. 

5.  A  good  man^  showethpity,  and  lendeth :  he  manages  his  affairs 

uprightly. 

6.  Surely  he  shall  not  be  moved  for  ever  :  the  just  shall  be  held 

in  perpetual  remembrance. 

7.  Se  shall  not  be  afraid  when  he  hears  evil  tidings  :  his  heart 

is  fixed,  because  he  confides  in  Jehovah- 


^  "  Ou,  il  a  fait  reluire  la  lumiere." — Fr.  marg.  "  Or,  he  hath  made 
light  to  arise  or  to  shine."  There  is  here  perhaps,  as  Horsley  supposes, 
an  allusion  to  what  happened  in  Egypt,  when  the  Israelites  had  light  in 
all  their  dwellings,  while  the  land  was  wrapt  in  darkness.  "  The  first 
hemistich,"  says  Phillips,  "  is  figurative.  Trouble  is  represented  by  "JEJTI? 
darkness;  and  health  or  prosperity  by  TiXi  light.  A  pious  man  shall  be 
found  to  enjoy  prosperity,  even  when  troubles  come  upon  the  rest  of  the 
world  ;  in  such  a  period  of  general  darkness  there  shall  spring  up  a  light 
to  the  upright ;  viz.,  Jehovah  himself,  who  is  gracious.,  and  merciful,  and 
just.  The  first  two  epithets  of  the  second  member  are  found,  in  Psalm 
cxi.  4,  applied  to  God." 

^  "  Ou,  bien  sera  a  I'homme  qui." — Fr.  marg.  "  Or,  it  shall  be  well 
with  the  man  who."  With  this  corresponds  the  translation  of  Archbishop 
Seeker,  which  is,  "  Happy  is  the  man  who,"  &c.  In  proof  that  310 
signifies  happy.^  he  refers  to  Isaiah  iii.  10  ;  Jer.  xliv.  17  ;  Lam.  iv.  9. 


324  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXII. 

8.  His  heart  is  established,  he  shall  not  he  afraid,  untiV  he  see 
his  desire^  upon  his  enemies. 

4.  Light  ariseth.  The  Hebrew  verb  HIT,  zaracJi,  may  be 
taken  intransitively,  as  I  liave  inserted  it  in  the  text,  or 
transitively,  as  in  the  marginal  reading ;  in  either  way  the 
sio-nification  is  the  same.  AVhichsoever  of  these  translations 
you  adopt,  the  words  are  susceptible  of  a  twofold  interpre- 
tation ;  either,  that  as  the  sun  shines  on  one  part  of  the 
earth,  and  all  the  other  parts  of  it  are  enveloped  in  darkness, 
so  God  exempts  the  righteous  from  the  common  calamities  of 
human  life ;  or,  as  day  succeeds  night,  so  God,  though  he 
permit  the  hearts  of  his  servants  to  be  in  heaviness  for  a 
season,  will  cause  a  time  of  calmness  and  clearness  to  return 
to  them.  If  the  latter  exposition  is  adopted,  then,  by  dark- 
ness, or  by  the  cloudy,  and  rainy,  or  stormy  season,  the  pro- 
phet means  the  afflictions  to  which  God  subjects  his  servants 
for  the  trial  of  their  patience.  The  former  interpretation 
appears  to  be  more  appropriate.  That,  when  the  whole  world 
is  overwhelmed  with  troubles,  God's  grace  shines  upon  the 
faithful,  who  feel  comfortable  and  happy,  because  he  is  pro- 
pitious towards  them.  It  is  thus  that  their  condition  is 
properly  distinguished  from  that  which  forms  the  common 
lot  of  other  men.     For  the  ungodly,  however  they  may  exult 

'  "  Until.  This  is  not  to  be  taken  as  if  his  freedom  from  fear  would 
continue  no  longer,  but  is  to  be  extended  to  all  future  times." — Walford. 

2  His  desire  is  a  supplement  made  in  the  French  version,  but  not 
in  the  Latin ;  and,  if  it  is  admitted,  we  must  be  careful  not  to  under- 
stand it  as  imi)lying  any  thing  like  revenge.  The  good  man  has 
enemies  of  various  kinds.  Worldly  and  wicked  men  are  often  his 
enemies.  But  he  does  not  desire  their  destruction ;  for  this  would 
be  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  Christian  spirit.  According  to  Ham- 
mond, the  supplement  is  unnecessary.  His  reading  is,"  He  shall  behold 
or  look  upon  his  oppressors  or  distressers  ;"  Avhich  he  explains  thus,  "  He 
shall  behold  them  seciurely,  confidently  look  in  their  faces,  as  we  say,  as 
being  now  no  longer  under  their  power,  being  freed  from  their  tyranny 
and  pressm-es."  In  Psalm  liv.  7,  we  meet  with  a  similar  expression, 
which  see  explained,  in  reference  to  David's  circumstances  at  that  time, 
in  vol.  ii.  p.  324,  note.  It  is  used  again  in  Psalm  lix.  11,  "  God  shall 
let  me  see  or  look  on  mine  enemies ;"  in  Psalm  xcii.  11,  "  Mine  eye 
hath  looked  on  mine  enemies,  and  mine  ear  hath  heard  of  them  that  rise 
up  against  me,"  that  is,  hath  seen  and  heard  of  their  destruction  ;  and  in 
Psalm  cxviii.  7,  "  I  shall  look  upon  my  haters,"  that  is,  having  God  for 
my  helper,  I  shall  without  fear  look  upon  them. 


PSALM  CXII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  325 

in  prosperity,  are,  nevertheless,  blind  in  the  midst  of  light, 
because  they  are  strangers  to  God's  paternal  kindness ;  and, 
in  adversity,  they  are  plunged  into  the  darkness  of  death  ; 
and,  consequently,  they  never  enjoy  a  season  of  calm  repose. 
On  the  contraiy,  the  godly,  upon  whom  the  favour  of  God 
constantly  shines,  though  liable  to  the  ills  incident  to  huma- 
nityj  are  never  overwhelmed  with  darkness,  and  hence  the 
propriety  of  what  is  here  stated,  light  ariseih  to  them  in  dark- 
ness. If  we  give  to  the  Hebrew  verb  an  active  signification, 
then,  in  one  respect,  the  construction  of  the  words  will  be 
preferable.  For  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  prophet  intends, 
as  applicable  to  God,  the  epithets,  gracious,  merciful,  and  just. 
Therefore,  if  we  read  it  as  a  neuter  verb,  light  ariseth,  then 
the  latter  clause  of  the  verse  will  be  the  reason  for  the  state- 
ment made  in  the  former  clause.  As  to  the  exposition,  that 
the  righteous  and  humane  do  not  diffuse  darkness  over  the 
world,  as  the  unrighteous  and  wicked  do ;  that  they  do  not 
extract  smoke  from  light,  but  light  from  smoke ;  it  must  be 
viewed  as  nothing  else  than  a  perversion  of  the  prophet's 
language. 

5.  A  good  man.  This  is  the  commonly  received  interpreta- 
tion of  the  passage.  I  am  disposed,  however,  to  prefer  another. 
That  it  shall  be  well  with  those  who  are  gracious  and  com- 
municative; because  this  is  more  in  accordance  with  the 
purport  of  the  prophet's  language.  It  is  his  intention  to 
show  how  greatly  the  ungodly  are  deceived,  when  they  aspire 
after  happiness  by  nefarious  and  unlawful  practices ;  seeing 
that  the  favour  of  God  is  the  source  and  cause  of  all  good 
things.  Hence  it  becomes  necessary  to  supply  the  relative 
who.  He  proceeds,  therefore,  to  put  us  on  our  guard  as  to  the 
deception  Avhich  those  practise  upon  themselves,  who  hasten 
to  enrich  themselves  by  sordid  parsimony  and  oppressive 
extortion ;  inasmuch  as  the  faithful,  by  their  clemency  and 
kindness,  open  up  a  channel,  through  which  the  favour  of 
God  flows  to  them  :  for  the  term  ^ItO,  tob,  though'  in  the 
masculine  gender,  signifying  good,  is  often  taken  as  if  it  were 
neuter,  to  denote  that  which  is  good.  He  puts  lending  as  if 
it  were  the  fruit  of  mercy ;  for  the  usurer  also  lends,  but  it  is 


326  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXII. 

that,  under  the  false  pretence  of  assisting  the  distressed,  he 
may  phmder  them.  It  is,  then,  the  truly  liberal,  who,  from 
compassion,  and  not  with  the  design  of  ensnaring  the  poor, 
grant  relief  to  them,  that  God  makes  prosperovis.  The  term 
D'*'1i*T,  debarim,  in  the  end  of  the  verse,  signifies  words ;  but, 
along  with  David  Kimchi,  the  most  correct  expositor  among 
the  Rabbins,  I  take  it  to  mean  affairs.  Words  is  a  very  tame 
translation,^  not  to  say,  that,  if  this  had  been  the  prophet's 
intention,  he  would  have  expressed  himself  in  more  simple 
terms.  The  translation  which  I  have  given  is  the  proper  one, 
that  the  righteous  will  manage  their  affiiirs  with  prudence  and 
discernment;  so  that,  in  their  domestic  affairs,  they  will 
neither  be  too  lavish  nor  sordidly  parsimonious ;  but,  in 
every  thing,  they  will  study  to  combine  frugality  with  eco- 
nomy, without  giving  way  to  luxury.  And,  in  all  their 
mercantile  transactions,  they  will  always  be  guided  by  the 
principles  of  equity  and  morality. 

6.  Surely  he  shall  not  he  moved.  The  Hebrew  particle  *^, 
ki,  may  here  be  taken  in  its  natural  or  causal  meaning,  and 
thus  be  rendered  for,  especially  if  in  the  preceding  verse  we 
adopt  the  marginal  reading,  It  shall  he  loell  icith  the  man. 
For  he  refers  in  more  explicit  terms  to  that  happiness  of 
which  he  spake,  that  God  sustains  the  compassionate  and 
humane,  so  that  amid  all  the  vicissitudes  of  life  they  remain 
unmoved ;  that  he  makes  their  innocence  appear,  and  protects 
them  from  unjust  calumny.  It  is  said  they  are  never  moved. 
They  are  indeed  liable  to  the  incidents  common  to  humanity, 
and  even  may  often  appear  as  if  they  were  about  to  sink 
under  the  weight  of  their  calamities  ;  but  their  confidence  re- 
mains unshaken,  and  by  invincible  patience  they  surmount  all 
their  adversities.  With  God  as  the  defender  of  their  right- 
eousness, they  yet  do  not  escape  from  being  assailed  by  the 

^  It  is  so  translated  in  some  of  the  ancient  versions,  and  by  several 
critics.  In  tlie  Syriac  it  is,  "  will  support  his  words  in  judgment ;"  i.  e., 
will  never  utter  any  thing  but  what  is  strictly  true.  In  like  manner, 
Cocceius.  In  the  Arabic,  which  is  followed  by  Castalio,  it  is,  "  will 
moderate  his  words  in  judgment ;"  i.  e.,  will  speak  as  favourably  of 
delinquents  as  he  can  consistently  with  truth,  contrary  to  the  practice  of 
the  wicked. — Psalm  xciv.  21. 


PSALM  CXII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  321!' 

slanders  of  the  ungodly,  but  it  is  enough  for  them  that  their 
name  is  blessed  before  God,  the  angels,  and  the  whole  assem- 
bly of  the  godly. 

7.  He  shall  not  he  afraid  when  he  hears  evil  tidings.  This 
may  appear  to  be  a  confirmation  of  the  statement  contained 
in  the  preceding  verse,  being  as  much  as  to  say,  That  the 
righteous  are  exempted  from  the  infamous  name  which  the 
reprobate  secure  to  themselves  by  their  vicious  conduct.  I 
rather  take  the  meaning  to  be,  that  the  righteous,  unlike  un- 
believers, who  tremble  at  every  even  the  slightest  rumour, 
calmly  and  peacefully  confide  in  God's  paternal  care,  amid 
all  the  evil  tidings  which  may  reach  them.  Whence  is  it 
that  unbelievers  are  in  constant  agitation,  but  that  they  ima- 
gine they  are  the  sport  of  fortune  on  the  earth,  while  God 
remains  at  ease  in  heaven  ?  No  wonder,  then,  that  the  rust- 
ling of  the  falling  leaf  troubles  and  alarms  them.  From  such 
uneasiness  the  faithful  are  freed,  because  they  neither  give 
heed  to  rumours,  nor  does  the  fear  of  them  prevent  them  from 
constantly  invoking  God.  The  children  of  God  may  also 
manifest  symptoms  of  fear  at  the  prospect  of  impending  dan- 
ger ;  for  were  they  altogether  regardless  of  calamities,  such 
indifference  would  be  the  result,  not  of  confidence  in  God, 
but  of  insensibility.  But  should  they  not  be  able  to  lay  aside 
all  fear  and  anxiety,  yet,  acknowledging  God  as  the  guardian 
of  their  life,  and  pursuing  the  tenor  of  their  way,  they  intrust 
themselves  to  his  preserving  care,  and  cheerfully  resign  them- 
selves to  his  disposal.  This  is  that  magnanimity  of  the  right- 
eous, under  the  influence  of  which  the  prophet  declares  they 
can  disregard  those  rumours  of  evil  which  strike  others  with 
alarm.  Wisely,  too,  do  they  rely  upon  God  for  support ; 
because,  encompassed  on  all  sides  with  deaths  innumerable, 
we  would  sink  into  despair  were  we  not  borne  up  by  the  con- 
fidence that  vve  are  secure  under  God's  protection.  Genuine 
stability,  then,  is  that  which  the  prophet  here  describes,  and 
which  consists  in  reposing  with  unshaken  confidence  in  God. 
On  the  other  hand,  that  presumptuous  confidence  with  which 
the  ungodly  are  intoxicated  exposes  them  the  more  to  the 
indignation  of  God,  inasmuch  as  they  overlook  the  frailty  of 


328  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIT. 

human  life,  and  in  their  pride  of  heart  madly  set  themselves 
in  opposition  to  him.  Therefore,  when  "  they  shall  say, 
Peace  and  safety,  then  shall  sudden  destruction  come  upon 
them,"  (1  Thess.  v.  3.)  But  a  sense  of  calamities,  while 
it  alarms  and  disconcerts  the  faithful,  does  not  make  them 
faint-hearted,  because  it  does  not  shake  their  faith,  by 
which  they  are  rendered  bold  and  stedfast.  In  a  word,  they 
are  not  insensible  to  their  trials,^  but  the  confidence  which 
they  place  in  God  enables  them  to  rise  above  all  the  cares  of 
the  present  life.  Thus  they  preserve  calmness  and  composed- 
ness  of  mind,  and  wait  patiently  till  the  fit  season  arrives  for 
taking  vengeance  upon  the  reprobate. 

9.  He  has  distributed,  he  has  given  to  the  poor;  his  righteousness 

endureth  for  ever;  his  horn  shall  he  exalted  with  honour. 
10.    The  wicked  shall  see  it^  and  he  angry;    he  shall  gnash  with 
his  teeth,  and  melt  away:^  the  desire  of  the  wicked  shall 
perish. 

9.  He  has  distributed,  he  hath  given  to  the  poor.  Once  more 
he  affirms  that  the  righteous  never  lose  the  fruit  and  the  re- 
ward of  their  liberality.  And  first,  by  dispersing,  the  prophet 
intimates,  that  they  did  not  give  sparingly  and  grudgingly, 
as  some  do  who  imagine  that  they  discharge  their  duty  to  the 
poor  when  they  dole  out  a  small  pittance  to  them,  but  that 
they  "give  liberally  as  necessity  requires  and  their  means 
allow ;  for  it  may  happen  that  a  liberal  heart  does  not  possess 
a  large  portion  of  the  wealth  of  this  world.  All  that  the 
prophet  means  is,  that  they  are  never  so  parsimonious  as  not 
to  be  always  ready  to  distribute  according  to  their  means. 
Next  he  adds,  they  give  to  the  poor,  meaning  that  they  do  not 
bestow  their  charity  at  random,  but  with  prudence  and  dis- 


1  "  Neqiie  ferrei  sunt  neque  stipites." — Lot.  "  lis  ne  sont  point  de 
fer,  ne  semblables  a  des  souches." — Fr.  "They  are  not  of  iron,  nor  do 
they  resemble  blocks." 

2  "d)031,  And  shall  melt  away.  Root  DDO-  It  is  said  to  denote  the 
total  destruction  of  any  thing  by  the  process  of  melting  The  verb  is 
employed  by  way  of  figure,  to  express  the  annihilation  of  the  wicked,  in 
Ps.  Ixviii.  ^."—Phillips. 


PSALM  CXII.  THE  BOOK  Or  PSALMS.  329 

cretion  meet  the  wants  of  the  necessitous.  We  are  aware  that 
unnecessary  and  superfluous  expenditure  for  the  sake  of  osten- 
tation is  frequently  lauded  by  the  world  ;  and,  consequently, 
a  larger  quantity  of  the  good  things  of  this  life  is  squandered 
away  in  luxury  and  ambition  than  is  dispensed  in  charity 
prudently  bestowed.  The  prophet  instructs  us  that  the  praise 
which  belongs  to  liberality  does  not  consist  in  distributing 
our  goods  without  any  regard  to  the  objects  upon  whom  they 
are  conferred,  and  the  purposes  to  which  they  are  applied, 
but  in  relieving  the  wants  of  the  really  necessitous,  and  in 
the  money  being  expended  on  things  proper  and  lawful. 
This  passage  is  quoted  by  Paul,  (2  Cor.  ix.  9,)  in  which  he 
informs  us  that  it  is  an  easy  matter  for  God  to  bless  us  with 
plenty,  so  that  we  may  exercise  our  bounty  freely,  deliber- 
ately, and  impartially,  and  this  accords  best  with  the  design 
of  the  prophet.  The  next  clause.  Ids  righteousness  endureth 
for  ever,  is  susceptible  of  two  interpretations.  That  im- 
moderate ambition  which  impels  the  ungodly  to  squander 
away  their  goods  merits  not  the  name  of  virtue.  It  may, 
therefore,-  with  propriety  be  said,  that  it  is  a  uniform  course 
of  liberality  which  is  here  praised  by  the  prophet,  according 
to  what  he  formerly  observed,  that  the  righteous  manage  their 
affairs  icith  discretion.  If  any  prefer  to  refer  it  to  the  fruit  of 
righteousness,  I  have  no  objection.  And,  indeed,  it  appears 
to  be  a  repetition  of  the  same  sentence  which  lately  came 
under  our  notice.  Then  the  prophet  shows  how  God  by  his 
benefits  preserves  the  glory  of  that  righteousness  which  is 
due  to  their  liberality,  and  does  not  disappoint  them  of  their 
reward,  in  that  he  exalteth  their  horn  more  and  more,  that 
is,  their  power  or  their  prosperous  condition. 

10.  Tlie  wicked  shall  see  it.^  Here  follows  a  contrast  similar 
to  that  which  we  met  with  in  Psalm  ii.  5,  which  renders  the 
grace  of  God  towards  the  faithful  the  more  illustrious.  His 
meaning  is,  that  though  the  wicked  may  cast  off  all  regard 
to  piety,  and  banish  from  their  minds  all  thoncrhts  of  human 
affairs  being  under  the  superintending  providence  of  God, 

^  "  The  wicked  shall  see  it ;  i.  e.,  the  exalted  horn." — Dimock. 


330  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  CXIII. 

they  shall  yet  be  made  to  feel,  whether  they  will  or  no,  that 
the  righteous,  in  compliance  with  God's  command,  do  not 
vainly  devote  themselves  to  the  cultivation  of  charity  and 
mercy.  Let  them  harden  themselves  as  they  choose,  yet  he 
declares  that  the  honour,  which  God  confers  upon  his  chil- 
dren, shall  be  exhibited  to  them,  the  sight  of  which  shall 
make  them  gnash  with  their  teeth,  and  shall  excite  an  envy 
that  shall  consume  them  by  inches.'  In  conclusion,  he  adds, 
that  the  loicked  shall  he  disappointed  of  their  desii-es.  They  are 
never  content,  but  are  continually  thirsting  after  something, 
and  their  confidence  is  as  presumptuous  as  their  avarice  is 
unbounded.  And  hence,  in  their  foolish  expectations,  they 
do  not  hesitate  at  grasping  at  the  whole  world.  But  the 
prophet  tells  them  that  God  will  snatch  from  them  what  they 
imagined  was  already  in  their  possession,  so  that  they  shall 
always  depart  destitute  and  famishing. 


PSALM  CXIII. 

Ill  this  pscalm  the  providence  of  God  furnishes  matter  for  praising  him, 
because,  though  his  excellency  is  far  above  the  heavens,  nevertheless, 
he  deigns  to  cast  his  eyes  upon  the  earth  to  take  notice  of  mankind. 
And  as  not  a  few  are  disconcerted  by  the  vicissitudes  which  they  be- 
hold occurring  in  the  world,  the  prophet  takes  occasion,  from  these 
sudden  and  unlocked  for  changes,  to  warn  us  to  attend  expressly  to 
God's  providence,  that  we  may  entertain  no  doubt  that  all  things  are 
governed  according  to  his  will  and  pleasure. ^ 

'  "  Et  par  une  envie  qu'ils  auront  les  fera  mourir  a  petit  feu." — Fr. 

2  This  interesting  little  ode,  which  is  alike  elegant  in  its  structure,  and 
devotional  in  its  sentiment,  its  theme  being  the  celebration  of  Jehovah's 
power,  glory,  and  mercy,  is  thought  by  Bishop  Patrick  to  be  the  com- 
mencement of  what  the  Hebrews  called  the  Great  Hallel  or  Hymns,  which 
they  recited  at  their  tables  in  the  new  moons  and  other  feasts,  especially 
in  the  paschal  night,  after  they  had  eaten  the  lamb.  He  supposes  that 
the  Great  Hallel  included  this  and  the  five  following  psalms.  See  p.  310. 
"  It  is  very  uncertain  Avho  was  the  author  of  this  psalm  ;  but  as  the  7th  and 
8th  verses  are  manifestly  taken  from  1  Sam.  ii.  8,  and  the  9th  probably 
alludes  to  the  history  of  Hannah,  it  might  be  composed  by  Samuel  or 
David,  who  were  so  nearly  interested  in  the  signal  mercies  vouchsafed 
to  her." — Dimoch. 


PSALM  CXIII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  331 

1.  Praise  ye  Jehovah.     Praise,  ye  servants  of  Jehovah  /  praise 

the  name  of  Jehovah. 

2.  Blessed  be  the  name  of  Jehovah  henceforth  and  for  ever. 

3.  Jehovah's  name  is  to  be  praised,  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  unto 

his  going  down. 

4.  Jehovah  is  high  above  all  nations,   his  glory  is  above   the 

heavens. 

1.  Praise,  ye  servants  of  Jehovah !  This  psalm  contains 
abundant  reasons  for  all  men  without  exception  to  praise  God. 
The  faithful  alone  being  endued  with  spiritual  perception  to 
recognise  the  hand  of  God,  the  prophet  addresses  them  in 
particular.  And  if  we  consider  how  cold  and  callous  men 
are  in  this  religious  exercise,  Ave  will  not  deem  the  repeti- 
tion of  the  call  to  praise  God  supei'fluous.  We  all  acknow- 
ledge that  we  are  created  to  praise  God's  name,  while,  at  the 
same  time,  his  glory  is  disregarded  by  us.  Such  criminal 
apathy  is  justly  condemned  by  the  prophet,  with  the  view  of 
stirring  us  up  to  unwearied  zeal  in  praising  God.  The  repe- 
tition, then,  of  the  exhortation  to  praise  him,  ought  to  be 
considered  as  referring  both  to  perseverance  and  ardour  in 
this  service.  If,  by  the  servants  of  God,  some  would  rather 
vinderstand  the  Levites,  to  whom  the  charge  of  celebrating 
his  praises  under  the  Law  was  committed,  I  am  not  much 
opposed  to  it,  provided  they  do  not  exclude  the  rest  of  the 
faithful,  over  whom  formerly  God  appointed  the  Levites  as 
leaders  and  chief  musicians,  that  he  might  be  praised  by  all 
his  people  without  exception.  When  the  Holy  Sj^irit  ad- 
dresses the  Levites  expressly  in  relation  to  the  subject  of 
God's  praises,  it  is  designedly  that,  by  their  example,  they 
may  show  the  way  to  others,  and  that  the  whole  Church 
may  respond  in  one  holy  chorus.  Now  that  we  are  all  "  a 
royal  priesthood,"  (1  Pet.  ii.  9,)  and  as  Zechariah  testifies, 
(chap.  xiv.  21,)  that  under  the  reign  of  Christ,  the  meanest 
of  the  people  shall  be  Levites,  there  is  no  question  that, 
excepting  unbelievers  who  are  mute,  the  prophet  invites  us 
all  in  common  to  render  this  service  unto  God. 


332  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  CXIII. 

2.  Blessed  he  the  name  of  Jeliovah.  The  prophet  confirms 
what  I  stated  above,  that  the  praises  of  God  must  be  conti- 
nued throughout  the  whole  course  of  our  life.  If  his  name 
is  to  be  continually  praised,  it  ought,  at  least,  to  be  our  ear- 
nest endeavour,  during  our  brief  pilgrimage  here,  that  the 
remembrance  of  it  may  flourish  after  we  are  dead.  In  the 
next  verse,  he  extends  the  glory  of  God's  name  to  all  parts 
of  the  earth ;  wherefore  our  apathy  will  be  totally  inexcus- 
able, if  we  do  not  make  its  praises  resound  among  ourselves. 
Under  the  law,  God  could  not  be  praised  aright,  excepting 
in  Judea  by  his  own  people,  to  whom  the  knowledge  of  him 
was  confined.  His  woi'ks,  however,  which  are  visible  to  all 
nations,  are  worthy  of  the  admiration  of  the  whole  world. 
To  the  same  effect  is  the  following  clause  respecting  the 
loftiness  of  God's  glory ;  for  can  there  be  any  thing  more 
base,  than  for  us  to  magnify  it  but  seldom  and  tardily,  con- 
sidering it  ought  to  fill  our  thoughts  with  enrapturing  admir- 
ation ?  In  extolling  the  name  of  God  so  highly,  the  prophet 
intends  to  show  us  that  there  is  no  ground  for  indifi'erence ; 
that  silence  would  savour  of  impiety  were  we  not  to  exert 
ourselves  to  the  utmost  of  our  ability  to  celebrate  his  praises, 
in  order  that  our  affections  may,  as  it  were,  rise  above  the 
heavens.  When  he  adds,  that  God  is  high  above  all  nations^ 
there  is  an  implied  reproach,  by  which  he  fastens  upon  the 
chosen  people  the  charge  of  apathy  in  the  exercise  of  praise. 
For  can  there  be  any  thing  more  preposterous,  than  for  those 
who  are  eye-witnesses  of  God's  glory,  which  shines  forth 
even  among  the  blind,  to  refrain  from  making  it  the  theme 
of  their  praises  ?  At  the  very  time  when  God  conferred 
upon  the  Jews  the  exclusive  honour  of  being  the  depositaries 
of  the  knowledge  of  his  heavenly  doctrine,  he  was  neverthe- 
less, accoi'ding  to  Paul,  not  without  a  witness,  (Acts  xiv.  17  ; 
Rom.  i.  20.)  After  the  promulgation  of  the  Gospel,  his 
exaltation  above  the  nations  was  more  evident,  for  then  the 
whole  world  was  placed  under  his  sway. 

5.    Wlio  is  like  unto  Jehovah  our  God,  who  hath  his  dwelling  on 
high, 


PSALM  CXIII.  THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  333 

6.  Who  humbleth  himself  to  behold  the  things  that  are  done  in 

heaven,  and  on  earth  !  ^ 

7.  Who  raises  the  poor  from  the  dust,  who  lifts  the  afflicted  from 

the  dunghill  ; 

8.  That  he  may  place  him  with  princes,  with  the  princes  of  his 

people. 

9.  Who  maketh  the  barren  woman  to  dwell  in  the  family,  a  joyful 

mother  of  children.     Praise  ye  Jehovah.^ 

5.  Who  is  like  unto  Jehovah  our  God.  The  prophet 
strengthens  his  position  for  the  celebration  of  God's  praises, 
by  contrasting  the  height  of  his  glory  and  power  with  his 
unbounded  goodness.  Not  that  his  goodness  can  be  sepa- 
rated from  his  glory  ;  but  this  distinction  is  made  out  of 
regard  to  men,  who  would  not  be  able  to  endure  his  majesty, 
were  he  not  kindly  to  humble  himself,  and  gently  and  kindly 
draw  us  towards  him.  The  amount  is,  that  God's  dwelling 
above  the  heavens,  at  such  a  distance  from  us,  does  not  pre- 
vent him  from  showing  himself  to  be  near  at  hand,  and 
plainly  providing  for  our  welfare ;  and,  in  saying  that  God 
is  exalted  above  the  heavens,  he  magnifies  his  mercy  towards 
men,  whose  condition  is  mean  and  despicable,  and  informs 
us  that  he  might  righteously  hold  even  angels  in  contempt, 
were  it  not  that,  moved  by  paternal  regard,  he  condescends 
to  take   them  under  his  care.     If  in  regard  to  angels  he 

^  "  Lowtli  translates  rightly  after  Hare : — 

'  Who  is  like  Jehovah  our  God  ? 
Who  dwelleth  high, 
Who  looketh  low ; 
In  heaven  and  on  earth.' 

He  refers  to  the  same  structure,  Cant.  i.  5.  For  the  first  part,  see  Jer. 
xlix.  8 ;  and  for  the  whole,  see  Ps.  cxxxviii.  6 ;  Isa.  Ivii.  15." — Arch- 
bishop Seeker  in  Merrick's  Annotations  on  the  Psalms.  Lowth  observes 
that  the  last  member  is  to  be  divided,  and  assigned  in  its  two  divisions 
to  the  two  preceding  members,  as  if  it  were,  "  Who  dwelleth  high  in 
heaven,  and  looketh  low  on  earth." 

2  The  words,  Praise  ye  Jehovah,  at  the  end  of  the  psalm,  are,  in  the 
Septuagint,  Vulgate,  Syriac,  Arabic,  and  ^thiopic  versions,  and  in  a 
very  ancient  manuscript,  placed  at  the  head  of  next  psalm,  where,  per- 
haps, they  formerly  stood  as  the  title. 


334  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIII. 

humble  himself,  what  is  to  be  said  in  regard  to  men,  who, 
grovelling  upon  the  earth,  are  altogether  filthy  ?  Is  it  asked, 
whether  or  not  God  fills  heaven  and  earth  ?  The  answer  is 
obvious.  The  words  of  the  prophet  simply  mean,  that  God 
may  trample  the  noblest  of  his  creatures  under  his  feet,  or 
rather  that,  by  reason  of  their  infinite  distance,  he  may 
entirely  disregard  them.  In  short,  we  must  conclude  that 
it  is  not  from  our  proximity  to  him,  but  from  his  own  free 
choice,  that  he  condescends  to  make  us  the  objects  of  his 
pecuhar  care. 

7.  Who  raiseth  the  poor  from  the  dust.  In  this  passage,  he 
speaks  in  terms  of  commendation  of  God's  providential  care 
in  relation  to  those  diversified  chanfres  which  men  are  dis- 
posed  to  regard  as  accidental.  He  declares  that  it  is  solely 
by  the  appointment  of  God  that  things  undergo  changes  far 
surpassing  our  anticipations.  If  the  course  of  events  were 
always  uniform,  men  would  ascribe  it  merely  to  natural 
causes,  whereas,  the  vicissitudes  which  take  place  teach  us 
that  all  things  are  regulated  in  accordance  with  the  secret 
counsel  of  God.  On  the  other  hand,  struck  with  astonish- 
ment at  the  events  which  have  happened  contrary  to  our 
expectation,  we  instantly  ascribe  them  to  chance.  And  as 
we  are  so  apt  to  view  things  from  a  point  the  very  reverse 
from  that  of  recognising  God's  supeinntending  care,  the 
prophet  enjoins  us  to  admire  his  providence  in  matters  of 
marvellous,  or  of  unusual  occurrence ;  for  since  cowherds, 
and  men  of  the  lowest  and  most  abject  condition,  have  been 
elevated  to  the  summit  of  power,  it  is  most  reasonable  that 
our  attention  should  be  arrested  by  a  change  so  unexpected. 
We  now  perceive  the  prophet's  design.  In  this  passage,  as 
well  as  in  others,  he  might  have  set  before  us  the  structure 
of  the  heavens  and  the  earth ;  but,  as  our  minds  are  unaf- 
fected by  the  ordinary  course  of  things,  he  declai'es  that  the 
hand  of  God  is  most  apparent  in  his  marvellous  works.  And 
in  saying  that  men  of  mean  and  abject  condition  are  not 
merely  elevated  to  some  petty  sovereignty,  but  that  they  are 
invested  with  power  and  authority  over  God's  holy  people,  he 


PSALM  CXIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  335 

increases  the  greatness  of  the  miracle — that  being  of  far 
more  consequence  than  to  rule  in  other  parts  of  the  earth ; 
for  the  state  or  kingdom  of  the  Church  constitutes  the  prin- 
cipal and  august  theatre  where  God  presents  and  displays 
the  tokens  of  his  wonderful  power,  wisdom,  and  righteousness. 

9.  Who  maketh  the  barren  woman  to  dwell  in  the  family. 
He  relates  another  work  of  God,  which  if,  apparently,  not 
so  notable,  ought  not,  on  that  account,  the  less  to  engage 
our  thoughts.  Unimpressed  as  we  are  by  the  ordinary  works 
of  God,  we  are  constrained  to  express  our  astonishment  when 
a  woman  who  has  been  for  a  long  period  barren,  unexpect- 
edly becomes  the  mother  of  a  numerous  family.  The  Hebrew 
term,  H'^^nj  hahhayith,  Is  to  be  understood,  not  simply  of  a 
house,  but  also  of  a  household, — that  Is,  the  thing  containing, 
for  that  which  is  contained, — ^just  as  the  Greeks  apply  oJpcoj, 
and  the  Latins  domus,  to  a  household.  The  meaning  is,  that 
the  woman  who  was  formerly  barren  is  blessed  with  fruit- 
fulness,  and  fills  the  house  with  childi'en.  He  attributes  joy 
to  mothers,  because,  though  the  hearts  of  all  are  prone  to 
aspire  after  wealth,  or  honour,  or  pleasures,  or  any  other 
advantages,  yet  Is  progeny  preferred  to  every  thing  else. 
Wherefore,  since  God  superintends  the  ordinary  course  of 
nature,  alters  the  current  of  events,  elevates  those  of  abject 
condition  and  Ignoble  extraction,  and  makes  the  barren 
woman  fruitful,  our  insensibility  is  very  culpable,  if  we  do 
not  attentively  contemplate  the  works  of  his  hand. 


PSALM  CXIV. 

This  psalm  contains  a  abort  account  of  that  deliverance  by  which  God, 
in  bringing  his  people  out  of  Egypt,  and  conducting  them  to  the  pro- 
raised  inheritance,  gave  a  proof  of  his  power  and  grace  which  ought 
to  be  held  in  everlasting  remembrance,     The  design  of  that  wonderful 


336  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIV. 

deliverance  was,  that  the  seed  of  Abraham  might  yield  themselves 
wholly  to  God,  who,  receiving  them  by  a  gracious  act  of  adoption, 
purposed  that  they  should  be  to  him  a  holy  and  peculiar  people.^ 

1.  When  Israel  went  out  from  Egypt,  and  the  house  of  Jacob 

from  a  barbarous  people  ;^ 

2.  Judah  was  for  his^  holiness,  Israel  for  his  dominions. 

3.  The  sea  saw,  and  fed  :*  Jordan  was  turned  backward. 

4.  The  mountains  leaped  like  rams,  and  the  hills  as  the  lambs  of 

the  flock. 

1.  IVlien  Israel  went  out  from  Egypt.  That  exodus  being 
a  remarkable  pledge  and  symbol  of  God's  love  for  the  chil- 
dren of  Abraham,  it  is  not  surprising  that  it  should  be  so 


'  "  The  exodus  of  Israel  from  Egypt,  with  some  of  its  most  remark- 
able accompanying  and  consequent  miracles,  are,  in  this  brief  psalm, 
commemorated  in  the  boldest  style  of  poetry,  with  personifications,  indeed, 
of  inanimate  nature  of  the  utmost  daring  and  sublimity,  in  '  thoughts 
that  breathe,  and  words  that  burn.'" — Drake's  Harp  of  Judah. 

2  The  Avord  ^y^,  Zoe^,  Avhich  Calvin  renders,  a  barbarous  people.,  is 
translated,  in  our  English  Bible,  "  a  people  of  strange  language."  His 
version  is  supported  by  many  authorities.  The  word  is  frequently  found, 
in  the  sense  he  attaches  to  it,  in  Rabbinical  works,  and  is  so  understood 
here  by  the  Chaldee  paraphrast,  who  hastj^ini^i  and  by  the  LXX.,  who 
have  fici^l3ix,Qov.  The  root  of  these  terms,  as  well  as  the  Latin  word  for 
barbarous^  is  probably  the  Hebrew  i^^  out,  or  without,  redoubled ;  and  so 
it  signifies,  to  a  Jew,  any  man  of  another  nation.  According  to  Parkhurst, 
the  word,  instead  of  signifying  a  barbarous  or  foreign  language  or  pronun- 
ciation, seems  rather  to  refer  to  the  violence  of  the  Egyptians  towards  the 
Israelites,  or  the  barbarity  of  their  behaviour,  which,  he  observes,  was 
more  to  the  Psalmist's  purpose  than  the  barbarity  of  their  language, 
even  supposing  the  reality  of  the  latter  in  the  time  of  Moses. — See  his 
Lexicon  on  ^y^.     Horsley  reads,  "  a  tyrannical  people." 

3  "  There  is  a  peculiar  beauty  in  the  conduct  of  this  psalm,  in  that  the 
author  utterly  conceals  the  presence  of  God  in  the  beginning  of  it,  and 
rather  lets  a  possessive  pronoun  (i.  e.  His)  go  without  a  substantive, 
than  he  will  so  much  as  mention  any  thing  of  Divinity  there ;  because,  if 
God  had  appeared  before,  there  could  be  no  wonder  why  the  mountains 
should  leap,  and  the  sea  retu'C ;  therefore,  that  this  convulsion  of  nature 
may  be  brought  in  with  due  surprise,  his  name  is  not  mentioned  till  after- 
wards, and  then,  with  a  very  agreeable  turn  of  thought,  God  is  intro- 
duced at  once  with  all  majesty." — Spectator,  vol.  vi.  No.  461.  If,  how- 
ever, the  last  two  words  of  the  preceding  psalm,  n''"l'?'pni  Halelu-yah, 
Praise  ye  Jehovah,  are  the  title  to  this  psalm,  the  antecedent  to  his 
is  supplied. 

*  In  the  Hebrew  there  is  no  pronoun  after  saw ;  nor  is  anj'^  inserted  in 
the  Scptuagint  and  Arabic  versions,  or  in  the  Chaldee.  In  our  English 
Bible,  it  is  inserted,  and  him  in  the  Syriac  version ;  but  the  sentence  is 
certainly  much  more  sublime  without  any  such  supplement. 


PSALM  CXIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  337 

frequently  called  to  remembrance.  In  the  beginning  of  the 
psalm,  the  prophet  informs  us  that  the  people  whom  God 
purchased  at  so  great  a  price  are  no  more  their  own.  The 
opinion  of  certain  expositors,  that  at  that  time  the  tribe  of 
Judah  was  consecrated  to  the  service  of  God,  according  to 
what  is  said  in  Exod.  xix.  6,  and  1  Pet.  ii.  9,  appears  to  me 
foreign  to  the  prophet's  design.  All  doubt  about  the  matter 
is  removed  by  what  is  immediately  subjoined,  God's  taking 
Israel  under  his  rule,  which  is  simply  a  repetition  of  the  same 
sentiment  in  other  words.  Judah  being  the  most  powerful 
and  numerous  of  all  the  tribes,  and  occupying  the  chief  place 
among  them,  here  takes  the  precedency  of  the  rest  of  the 
people.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  very  evident  that  the  honour 
which  is  in  a  peculiar  manner  ascribed  to  them,  belongs 
equally  to  the  whole  body  of  the  people.^  When  God  is 
said  to  be  sanctified,  it  must  be  understood  that  the  prophet 
is  speaking  after  the  manner  of  men,  because,  in  himself, 
God  is  incapable  of  increase  or  diminution.  Judah  is  called 
his  holiness,^  and  Israel  his  dominioji,^  because  his  holy  majesty, 
which  hitherto  had  been  little  known,  secured  the  veneration 
of  all  who  had  witnessed  the  displays  of  his  incredible  power. 
In  delivering  his  people,  God  erected  a  kingdom  for  himself, 
and  procured  respect  for  his  sacred  name ;  if  then  they  do 
not  constantly  reflect  upon  such  a  remarkable  instance  of  his 
kindness,  their  insensibility  is  totally  inexcusable. 


'  "  Judah  represents  here  the  whole  people  of  Israel,  as  Joseph  does, 
in  Ps.  Ixxxi.  6.  The  reason  assigned  by  JCimchi  for  this  use  of  nmn'' 
here  is,  that  at  the  time  of  the  departure  from  Egj^it,  Judah  Avas  consi- 
dered the  head  or  chief  of  the  tribes  ;  see  Gen.  xlix.  8-10.  This,  how- 
ever, is  mere  conjecture.  If  it  be  necessary  to  assign  reasons  for  the 
distinction  here  conferred  on  this  tribe,  I  should  mention  as  one,  that  the 
ark  was  kept  in  the  region  occupied  by  the  descendants  of  Judah,  and, 
as  another,  that  from  him  the  Messiah  was  to  spring." — Phillips. 

^  GocVs  holiness  being  often  taken  for  the  keeping  his  promise  sacred  or 
inviolate.,  as  in  Ps.  cii.  9,  when,  reference  being  made  to  the  immutability 
of  his  covenant,  it  is  added,  "  holy  [as  in  another  respect,  reverend^  is  his 
name ;"  some,  as  Hammond  and  Cresswell,  suppose  that  the  meaning 
here  is,  that  God's  dealings  towards  Judah — the  people  of  the  Jews — 
were  a  demonstration  of  his  faithfulness  in  performing  his  promise  made 
to  Abraham  long  before. 

^  Hammond  reads,  "  And  Israel  his  power,"  by  which  he  understands 
that  Israel  was  an  instance  of  his  power ;  that  God,  in  his  acting  for 
Israel,  declared  his  omnipotence  most  signally. 

VOL.  IV.  Y 


338  COMMENTARY  UrON  PSALM  CXIV. 

3.  The  sea  saw,  andjled.  He  does  not  enumerate  in  suc- 
cession all  the  miracles  which  were  wrought  at  that  time, 
but  briefly  alludes  to  the  sea.  which,  though  a  lifeless  and 
senseless  element,  is  yet  struck  with  terror  at  the  power  of 
God.  Jordan  did  the  same,  and  the  very  mountains  shook. 
It  is  in  a  poetical  strain  that  the  Psalmist  describes  the 
receding  of  the  sea  and  of  the  Jordan.  The  description, 
however,  does  not  exceed  the  facts  of  the  case.  The  sea,  in 
rendering  such  obedience  to  its  Creator,  sanctified  his  name ; 
and  Jordan,  by  its  submission,  put  honour  upon  his  power ; 
and  the  mountains,  by  their  quaking,  pi'oclaimed  how  they 
were  overawed  at  the  presence  of  his  dreadful  majesty.  By 
these  examples  it  is  not  meant  to  celebrate  God's  power 
more  than  the  fatherly  care  and  desire  which  he  manifests 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Church ;  and,  accordingly,  Israel 
is  very  properly  distinguished  from  the  sea,  the  Jordan,  and 
the  mountains — there  being  a  very  marked  difference  between 
the  chosen  people  and  the  insensate  elements. 

5.  What  ailed  thee,  0  sea  !  that  thoufleddest  ?  and  thou,  Jordan, 

that  thou  turnedst  back  ? 

6.  Ye  mountains,  that  ye  did  leep  like  rams  ;  and  ye  hills,  like 

lambs  of  the  Jlock  ? 

7 .  At  the  presence  of  the  Lord,  tremble,  thou  earth,^  at  the  presence 

of  the  God  of  Jacob  ; 

8.  Who  turned  the  rock  into  pools  of  water,^  and  the  flinty  rock 

into  a  fountain  of  waters.^ 

5.  What  ailed  thee,  O  sea  !  The  prophet  interrogates  the  sea, 


^  Street  reads,  "  The  earth  was  in  pain."  "  All  the  ancient  versions," 
says  he,  "  have  the  preterpevfect  here.  The  Targum  alone  agrees  with 
the  present  reacUng,  if,  indeed,  that  be  an  imperative  mood.  For  I  do 
not  see  why  'r'^in  may  not  be  a  participle  passive  with  an  yod  added  to 
it,  as  "iDEinn  niay  be  a  participle  active  Avith  the  same  addition." 

2  Hammond  I'eads,  "into  a  lake  of  water."  "The  njJt^  Q"'D)"  he 
observes,  "  is  best  rendered  a  lake  of  water,  to  note  the  abundance  of  it ; 
accordingly,  the  Chaldee  renders  it  nn''"is'?i  info  a  river:  and  so  the 
Psalmist  expressly  describes  the  '  gushing  out  of  the  waters  from  the 
rock,'  that  '  they  ran  in  dry  places  like  a  river,'  Psalm  cv.  41." 

3  "  The  divine  poet  represents  the  very  substance  of  the  rock  as  being 
converted  into  water,  not  literally,  bnt  poetically — thus  ornamenting  his 
sketch  of  the  wondi'ous  power  displayed  on  this  occasion." — Walford. 


PSALM  CXIV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  339 

Jordan,  and  the  mountains,  in  a  familiar  and  poetical  strain, 
as  lately  he  ascribed  to  them  a  sense  and  reverence  for  God's 
power.  And,  by  these  similitudes,  he  very  sharply  reproves 
the  insensibility  of  those  persons,  who  do  not  employ  the 
intelligence  which  God  has  given  them  in  the  contemplation 
of  his  works.  The  appearance  which  he  tells  us  the  sea 
assumed,  is  more  than  sufficient  to  condemn  their  blindness. 
It  could  not  be  dried  up,  the  river  Jordan  could  not  roll  back 
its  waters,  had  not  God,  by  his  invisible  agency,  constrained 
them  to  render  obedience  to  his  command.  The  words  are 
indeed  directed  to  the  sea,  the  Joi'dan,  and  the  mountains, 
but  they  are  more  immediately  addressed  to  us,  that  every 
one  of  us,  on  self- reflection,  may  carefully  and  attentively 
weigh  this  matter.  And,  therefore,  as  often  as  we  meet  with 
these  words,  let  each  of  us  reiterate  the  sentiment, — "  Such  a 
change  cannot  be  attributed  to  nature,  and  to  subordinate 
causes,  but  the  hand  of  God  is  manifest  here."  The  figure 
drawn  from  the  lambs  and  rams  would  appear  to  be  inferior 
to  the  magnitude  of  the  subject.  But  it  was  the  prophet's 
intention  to  express  in  the  homeliest  way  the  incredible  man- 
ner in  which  God,  on  these  occasions,  displayed  his  power. 
The  stability  of  the  earth  being,  as  it  Avere,  founded  on  the 
mountains,  what  connection  can  they  have  with  rams  and 
lambs,  that  they  should  be  agitated,  skipping  hither  and 
thither?  In  speaking  in  this  homely  style,  he  does  not  mean 
to  detract  from  the  greatness  of  the  miracle,  but  more  forcibly 
to  engrave  these  extraordinary  tokens  of  God's  power  on  the 
illiterate. 

7.  At  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  Having  aroused  the  senses 
of  men  by  interrogations,  he  now  furnishes  a  reply,  which 
many  understand  to  be  a  personification  of  the  earth ;  because 
they  take  *^,  yod,  to  be  the  affix  of  the  verb  v^Plj  chuli ;  and 
they  represent  the  earth  as  saying,  It  is  my  duty  to  tremble 
at  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  This  fanciful  interpretation  is 
untenable  ;  for  the  term,  earthy  is  immediately  subjoined. 
Others,  with  more  propriety,  considering  the  *•,  yod,  in  this, 
as  in  many  other  passages,  to  be  redundant,  adopt  this  inter- 
pretation :    It  is  reasonable   and  becoming  that  the  earth 


340  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXV. 

should  tremble  in  the  presence  of  the  Lord.  Again,  the 
term  virij  chuli,  is  by  many  rendered  in  the  imperative  mood  ; 
which  interpretation  I  readily  adopt,  as  it  is  most  probable 
that  the  prophet  again  makes  an  appeal  to  the  earth,  that  the 
hearts  of  men  may  be  the  more  sensibly  moved.  The  meaning 
is  the  same, — It  must  be  that  the  earth  quake  at  the  presence 
of  her  Kino^.  And  this  view  receives  confirmation  from  the 
term  j'nXj  adon,  being  used,  which  signifies  a  lord  or  a  master. 
He  then  immediately  introduces  the  name  of  the  God  of  Jacob, 
for  the  purpose  of  banishing  from  men  all  notions  of  false  gods. 
Their  minds  being  prone  to  deceit,  they  are  always  in  great 
danger  of  allowing  idols  to  usurp  the  place  of  the  true  God. 
Another  miracle  is  mentioned,  in  which  God,  after  the  pass- 
age of  the  people  through  the  Red  Sea,  gave  an  additional  splen- 
did manifestation  of  his  power  in  the  wilderness.  The  glory  of 
God,  as  he  informs  us,  did  not  appear  for  one  day  only,  on 
the  departure  of  the  people  ;  it  constantly  shone  in  his  other 
works,  as  when  a  stream  suddenly  issued  out  of  the  dry  rock. 
Exodus  xvii.  6.  Waters  may  be  found  trickling  out  from 
among  rocks  and  stony  places,  but  to  make  them  flow  out  of 
a  dry  rock,  was  unquestionably  above  the  ordinary  course  of 
nature,  or  miraculous.  I  have  no  intention  of  entering  into 
any  ingenious  discussion,  how  the  stone  was  converted  into 
water;  all  that  the  prophet  means  amounts  simply  to  this, 
that  water  flowed  in  places  formerly  dry  and  hard.  How 
absurd,  then,  is  it  for  the  sophists  to  pretend  that  a  transub- 
stantiation  takes  place  in  every  case  in  which  the  Scripture 
affirms  that  a  change  has  been  produced  ?  The  substance  of 
the  stone  was  not  converted  into  water,  but  God  miraculously 
created  the  water,  which  gushed  out  of  the  dry  rock. 


PSALM  CXV. 

It  is  obvious  that  this  psalm  was  penned  when  the  Church  was  deeply 
afflicted.    Unworthy  as  they  are  to  be  heard  by  God,  the  faithftil, 


PSALM  CXV.        THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  341 

nevertheless,  oflPer  up  supplications  to  him  for  deliverance,  lest  his  holy 
name  might  be  exposed  to  scorn  and  reproach  among  the  heathen. 
Then,  mustering  courage,  they  mock  at  the  madness  of  all  who  are 
addicted  to  the  worship  of  idols ;  and,  with  holy  boasting,  they  mag- 
nify their  own  happiness,  in  that  they  have  been  adopted  by  God ; 
and  from  this  also  they  take  occasion  to  stimulate  one  another  to 
acknowledge  the  kindness  which  they  have  received  from  him. 

1.  Not  unto  us,  0  Jehovah  !  not  unto  us,  but  unto  thy  name  give  the 

glory,  on  account  of  thy  mercy,  on  account  of  thy  truth. 

2.  Why  should  the  heathen  say,  Where  is  now  their  God  ? 

3.  /Surely  our  God  is  in  heaven  :  he  hath  done  whatsoever  pleased 

him. 

1.  Not  unto  us,  O  Jehovah!  It  is  not  certain  by  whom,  or  at 
what  time,  this  psalm  was  composed.'  We  learn  from  the 
first  part  of  it,  that  the  faithful  betake  themselves  to  God,  in 
circumstances  of  extreme  distress.  They  do  not  make  known 
their  desires  in  plain  words,  but  indirectly  hint  at  the  nature 
of  their  request.  They  openly  disclaim  all  merit,  and  all  hope 
of  obtaining  deliverance,  otherwise  than  God's  doing  it  from 
a  sole  regard  to  his  oicn  glory,  for  these  things  are  inseparably 
connected.  Deserving,  therefore,  to  meet  with  a  repulse, 
they  yet  beseech  God  not  to  expose  his  name  to  the  derision 
of  the  heathen.  In  their  distress  they  desire  to  obtain  conso- 
lation and  support;  but,  finding  nothing  in  themselves  meri- 

''  "  As  the  former  psalm  ended  abruptly,  and  this  is  connected  with  it 
by  the  Septuagint,  Vulgate,  Syriac,  Arabic,  ^thiopic,  with  nineteen  MSS. ; 
and  as  the  following  ejaculations  so  naturally  arise  from  the  consideration 
of  the  wonderful  works  of  Jehovah  just  before  recited,  Lorinus's  opinion, 
that  it  is  only  a  continuation  of  the  former,  is  not  improbable.  Patiick 
refers  it  to  2  Chron.  xx.  2.  Some  suppose  it  to  be  written  by  Moses  at 
the  Red  Sea.  Others,  by  David  in  the  beginning  of  his  reign.  Others, 
by  Mordecai  and  Esther.  Others,  by  the  three  children  in  the  fiery 
fm'nace.  Perhaps  by  Hezekiah,  or  some  one  in  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
— See  Psalm  cxiv.  1." — Dimock.  "There  is  nothing  certain,"  observes 
Walford,  "  to  be  concluded  respecting  the  author  of  this  psalm,  or  the 
occasion  on  which  it  was  written.  It  is  conjectured,  however,  to  belong 
to  the  time  of  Hezekiah,  and  to  have  been  composed  in  celebration  of 
the  very  extraordinary  deliverance  which  was  afforded  to  that  pious 
prince,  and  to  his  people,  from  the  blasphemies  and  arrogance  of  Sen- 
nacherib, the  king  of  Assyria,  2  Chron.  xxxii. ;  Isaiah  xxxvi.  37. 
Whether  this  conjecture  be  agreeable  to  the  truth,  we  are  unable  to  say, 
though  a  considerable  probability  that  it  is  so,  arises  from  the  language 
of  the  psalm  itself." 


342  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXV. 

toriou3  of  God's  favour,  they  call  upon  him  to  grant  their 
requests,  that  his  glory  may  be  maintained.     This  is  a  point 
to  which  we  ought  carefully  to  attend,  that,  altogether  un- 
worthy as  we  are  of  God's  regard,  we  may  cherish  the  hope 
of  being  saved  by  him,  from  the  respect  that  he  has  for  the 
glory  of  his  name,  and  from  his  having  adopted  us  on  con- 
dition of  never  forsaking  us.     It  must  also  be  noticed,  that 
their  humility  and  modesty  prevent  them  from  openly  com- 
plaining of  their  distresses,  and  that  they  do  not  begin  with 
a  request  for  their  own  deliverance,  but  for  the  glory  of  God. 
Suffused  with  shame  by  reason  of  their  calamity,  which,  in 
itself,  amounts  to  a  kind  of  rejection,  they  durst  not  openly 
crave,   at   God's  hand,  what  they  wished,   but  made  their 
appeal  indirectly,  that,  from  a  regard  to  his  own  glory,  he 
would  prove  a  father  to  sinners,  who  had  no  claim  upon  him 
whatever.     And,  as  this  formulary  of  prayer  has  once  been 
delivered  to  the  Church,  let  us  also,  in  all  our  approaches 
imto  God,  remember  to  lay  aside  all  self-righteousness,  and 
to  place  our  hopes  entirely  on  his  free  favour.     Mox'eover, 
when  we  pray  for  help,  we  ought  to  have  the  glory  of  God 
in  view,  in  the  deliverance  which  we  obtain.     And  it  is  most 
likely  they  adopted  this  form  of  prayer,  being  led  to  do  so  by 
the  promise.     For,  during  the  captivity,  God  had  said,  "  Not 
for  your  sake,  but  for  mine  own  sake  will  I  do  this,"  Isaiah 
xlviii.  11.     When  all  other  hopes  fail,  they  acknowledge  this 
to  be  their  only  refuge.     The  repetition  of  it  is  an  evidence 
how  conscious  they  were  of  their  own  demerit,  so  that,  if 
their  prayers  should  happen  to  be  rejected  a  hundred  times, 
they  could  not,  in  their  own  name,  prefer  any  charge  against 
him. 

2.  Why  should  the  heathen  say,  Where  is  noiv  their  God'? 
They  here  express  how  God  would  maintain  his  glory  in  the 
preservation  of  the  Church,  which,  if  he  permitted  to  be  de- 
stroyed, would  expose  his  name  to  the  impious  reproaches  of 
the  heathen,  who  would  blaspheme  the  God  of  Israel,  as  being 
destitute  of  power,  because  he  forsook  his  servants  in  the 
time  of  need.  This  is  not  done  from  the  persuasion  that  God 
requires  any  such  representation,  but  rather  that  the  faithful 


PSALM  CXV.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  343 

may  direct  their  thoughts  back  to  that  holy  zeal  contained  in 
the  words  to  which  we  have  formerly  adverted,  "  The  railings 
of  those  that  railed  against  thee  have  fallen  upon  me,"  Psalm 
Ixix.  10.  And  this  is  the  reason  for  not  having  recourse  to 
rhetorical  embellishment,  to  move  him  to  put  forth  his  power 
to  preserve  the  Church ;  they  simply  protest  that  their  anxiety 
for  their  own  safety  does  not  prevent  them  from  valuing  the 
glory  of  God,  even  as  it  is  worthy  of  being  more  highly  valued. 
They  go  on  to  show  how  the  glory  of  God  Avas  connected 
with  their  deliverance,  by  declaring  that  he  was  the  Author 
of  the  covenant,  which  the  ungodly  had  boasted  was  abolished 
and  disannulled ;  and  who,  consequently,  had  declared  that 
the  grace  of  God  was  frustrated,  and  that  his  promises  were 
vain.  This  is  the  ground  on  which  they  remind  him  of  his 
favour  and  faithfulness,  both  of  which  were  liable  to  mis- 
chievous calumnies,  should  he  disappoint  the  hopes  of  his 
jjeople,  to  whom  he  was  bound  by  an  everlasting  covenant ; 
and  upon  whom,  in  the  exercise  of  his  gratuitous  mercy,  he 
had  bestowed  the  privilege  of  adoption.  And  as  God,  in 
making  us  also  partakers  of  his  Gospel,  has  condescended  to 
graft  us  into  the  body  of  his  Son,  we  ought  to  make  a  public 
acknowledgment  of  the  same. 

3.  Surely  our  God  is  in  heaven}  The  faithful,  with  holy 
boldness,  encourage  themselves  the  more  to  prayer.  Our 
prayers,  we  know,  are  worthless  when  we  are  agitated  with 
doubts.  Had  that  blasphemy  penetrated  their  hearts,  it 
would  have  inflicted  a  mortal  wound.  And  hence  they  very 
opportunely  guard  against  it,  by  discontinuing  the  train  o 
their  supplications.  By-and-bye  we  shall  consider  the  second 
clause  of  this  verse  in  its  proper  place,  where  they  scoff  at 
the  idols,  and  lewd  superstitions  of  the  heathen.  But,  at 
present,  every  word  in  this  clause  demands  our  careful  in- 
spection.    \Mien  they  place  God  in  heaven,  they  do  not 

'  "  Our  God,  saj'S  he,  is  in  heaven,  as  much  as  to  say,  that  yours  are 
not.  The  verse  may  be  also  regarded  as  a  response  to  the  question  of 
the  heathen,  Where  is  nov  their  God?  Such  a  response  Avas  calculated 
to  fortify  the  minds  of  the  pious  Avorshippevs  of  Jehovah,  against  the 
ridicule  Avhich  Avas  heaped  upon  them  by  their  idolatrous  neighbours.' — 
Phillips. 


344  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  OXV. 

confine  him  to  a  certain  locality,  nor  set  limits  to  his  infinite 
essence  ;  but  they  deny  the  limitation  of  his  power,  its  being 
shut  up  to  human  instrumentality  only,  or  its  being  subject 
to  fate  or  fortune.  In  short,  they  put  the  universe  under  his 
control ;  and,  being  superior  to  every  obstruction,  he  does 
freely  every  thing  that  may  seem  good  to  him.  This  truth 
is  still  more  plainly  asserted  in  the  subsequent  clause,  lie 
hath  done  lohatsoever  pleased  him.  God,  then,  may  be 
said  to  dwell  in  heaven,  as  the  w^orld  is  subject  to  his  will, 
and  nothing  can  prevent  him  from  accomplishing  his  pur- 
pose. 

That  God  can  do  whatsoever  he  pleaseth  is  a  doctrine  of 
great  importance,  provided  it  be  truly  and  legitimately  ap- 
plied. This  caution  is  necessary,  because  curious  and  for- 
ward persons,  as  is  usual  with  them,  take  the  liberty  of 
abusing  a  sound  doctrine  by  producing  it  in  defence  of  their 
frantic  reveries.  And  in  this  matter  we  daily  witness  too 
much  of  the  wildness  of  human  ingenuity.  This  mystery, 
which  ought  to  command  our  admiration  and  awe,  is  by  many 
shamelessly  and  irreverently  made  a  topic  of  idle  talk.  If 
we  would  derive  advantage  from  this  doctrine,  we  must  attend 
to  the  import  of  God's  doing  whatsoever  he  pleaseth  in  heaven 
and  on  the  earth.  And,  first,  God  has  all  power  for  the  pre- 
servation of  his  Church,  and  for  providing  for  her  welfare ; 
and,  secondly,  all  creatures  are  under  his  control,  and  there- 
fore nothing  can  prevent  him  from  accomplishing  all  his  pur- 
poses. However  much,  then,  the  faithful  may  find  them- 
selves cut  off  from  all  means  of  subsistence  and  safety,  they 
ought  nevertheless  to  take  courage  from  the  fact,  that  God 
is  not  only  superior  to  all  impediments,  but  that  he  can  ren- 
der them  subservient  to  the  advancement  of  his  own  designs. 
This,  too,  must  also  be  borne  in  mind,  that  all  events  are  the 
result  of  God's  appointment  alone,  and  that  nothing  happens 
by  chance.  This  much  it  was  proper  to  premise  respecting 
the  use  of  this  doctrine,  that  we  may  be  prevented  from 
forming  unworthy  conceptions  of  the  glory  of  God,  as  men  of 
wild  imaginations  are  wont  to  do.  Adopting  this  principle, 
we  ought  not  to  be  ashamed  frankly  to  acknowledge  that 
God,  by  his  eternal  counsel,  manages  all  things  in  such  a 


PSALM  CXV.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  345 

manner,  that  nothing  can  be  done  but  by  his  will  and  appoint- 
ment. 

From  this  passage  Augustine  very  properly  and  ingeni- 
ously shows,  that  those  events  which  appear  to  us  unreason- 
able not  only  occur  simply  by  the  permission  of  God,  but 
also  by  his  will  and  decree.  For  if  our  God  doeth  whatso- 
ever pleaseth  him,  why  should  he  permit  that  to  be  done 
which  he  does  not  wish  ?  Why  does  he  not  restrain  the  devil 
and  all  the  wicked  who  set  themselves  in  opposition  to  him  ? 
If  he  be  regarded  as  occupying  an  intermediate  position  be- 
tween doing  and  suffering,  so  as  to  tolerate  what  he  does  not 
wish,  then,  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  Epicureans,  he  will 
remain  unconcerned  in  the  heavens.  But  if  we  admit  that 
God  is  invested  with  prescience,  that  he  superintends  and 
governs  the  world  which  he  has  made,  and  that  he  does  not 
overlook  any  part  of  it,  it  must  follow  that  every  thing  which 
takes  place  is  done  according  to  his  will.  Those  who  speak 
as  if  this  would  be  to  render  God  the  author  of  evil  are  per- 
verse disputants.  Filthy  dogs  though  they  be,  yet  they  will 
not,  by  their  barking,  be  able  to  substantiate  a  charge  of  lying 
against  the  prophet,  or  to  take  the  government  of  the  world 
out  of  God's  hand.  If  nothing  occurs  unless  by  the  counsel 
and  determination  of  God,  he  apparently  does  not  disallow 
sin ;  he  has,  however,  secret  and  to  us  unknown  causes  why 
he  permits  that  which  perverse  men  do,  and  yet  this  is  not 
done  because  he  approves  of  their  wicked  inclinations.  It 
was  the  wdll  of  God  that  Jerusalem  should  be  destroyed,  the 
Chaldeans  also  wished  the  same  thing,  but  after  a  different 
manner ;  and  though  he  frequently  calls  the  Babylonians  his 
stipendiary  soldiers,  and  says  that  they  were  stirred  up  by 
him,  (Isa.  v.  26  ;)  and  farther,  that  they  w^ere  the  sword  of 
his  own  hand,  yet  we  would  not  therefore  call  them  his  allies, 
inasmuch  as  their  object  was  very  different.  In  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  God's  justice  would  be  displayed,  while  the 
Chaldeans  would  be  justly  censured  for  their  lust,  covetous- 
ness,  and  cruelty.  Hence,  whatever  takes  place  in  the  world 
is  according  to  the  will  of  God,  and  yet  it  is  not  his  Avill  that 
any  evil  should  be  done.  For  however  incomprehensible  his 
counsel  may  be  to  us,  still  it  is  always  based  upon  the  best  of 


346  COMJIENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXV. 

reasons.  Satisfied  with  his  will  alone,  so  as  to  be  fully  persuad- 
ed, that,  notwithstanding  the  great  depth  of  his  judgments, 
(Ps.  xxxvi.  6,)  they  are  characterised  by  the  most  consummate 
rectitude ;  this  ignorance  will  be  far  more  learned  than  all 
the  acumen  of  those  who  presume  to  make  their  own  capacity 
the  standard  by  which  to  measure  his  works.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  deserving  of  notice,  that  if  God  does  whatsoever 
he  pleases,  then  it  is  not  his  pleasure  to  do  that  which  is  not 
done.  The  knowledge  of  this  truth  is  of  great  importance, 
because  it  frequently  happens,  when  God  winks  and  holds 
his  peace  at  the  afflictions  of  the  Church,  that  we  ask  why 
he  permits  her  to  languish,  since  it  is  in  his  power  to  render 
her  assistance.  Avarice,  fraud,  perfidy,  cruelty,  ambition, 
pride,  sensuality,  drunkenness,  and,  in  short,  every  species  of 
corruption  in  these  times  is  rampant  in  the  Avorld,  all  which 
■would  instantly  cease  did  it  seem  good  to  God  to  apply  the 
remedy.  Wherefore,  if  he  at  any  time  appears  to  us  to  be 
asleep,  or  has  not  the  means  of  succouring  us,  let  this  tend 
to  make  us  wait  patiently,  and  to  teach  us  that  it  is  not  his 
pleasure  to  act  so  speedily  the  part  of  our  deliverer,  because 
he  knows  that  delay  and  procrastination  are  profitable  to  us ; 
it  being  his  will  to  wink  at  and  tolerate  for  a  while  what  as- 
suredly, were  it  his  pleasure,  he  could  instantly  rectify. 

4.  Their  idols  are  silver  and  gold,  the  work  of  men's  hands. 

5.  They  have  a  mouth,  but  they  do  not  speak  :  they  have  eyes, 

and  see  not  : 

6.  They  haoe  ears,  and  do  not  hear :  they  have  noses,  and  smell 

not  : 

7.  They  have  hands,  and  feel  not  :  they  have  feet,  and  walk  not  : 

they  do  not  speak  through  their  throat.^ 

^  Hammond  reads  the  last  clause,  "  neither  breathe,  or  murmm-,  they 
through  their  throats."  "  What  i;in'>  here  signifies,"  says  he,  "  will  be 
concluded  by  the  context  Avhich  immediatelj^  befoi'c  had  mentioned  their 
having  mouths  and  not  speaking.  Here,  therefore,  (as  there  the  proper 
action  of  the  month  was  speech,)  the  proper  action  of  the  tlivoat  or  larynx 
seems  to  be  intended,  and  that  is  to  breathe.  So  when,  Psalm  xc.  9,  he 
saith, '  We  consume  our  days,  pijn  IDS)  the  Targum  reads,  xoiD  !?3n  yr\i 
'  as  a  vapour,'  i.  e.,  '  breath  of  the  mouth  in  Aviuter.'  If  this  is  not 
the  sense,  then  certainly  it  is  an  inarticulate  sound,  contradistinct  from 
speaking.  So  Kimchi  and  Abeu  Ezra  state  it,  and  quote  Isaiah  xxxviii. 
J  4,  Avhere  the  Avord  is  applied  to  the  murmuring  of  the  dove.''' 


PSALM  CXV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  347 

8.    Those  irJio  make  them  shall  he  like  unto  them  ;  and  all  those 
who  trust  to  them. 

4.   Their  idols.     This  contrast.  Is  introduced  for  the  purpose 
of  confirming-  the  faith  of  the  godlj,  by  which  they  repose 
upon  God  alone  ;  because,  excepting  him,  all  that  the  minds 
of  men  Imagine  of  divinity  is  the  Invention  of  folly  and  delu- 
sion.    To  know  the  error  and  the  madness  of  the  world  cer- 
tainly contributes  in  no  small  degree  to  the  confirmation  of 
true  godliness  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  a  God  is  presented 
to  us,  whom  we  know  assuredly  to  be  the  maker  of  heaven 
and  earth,  and  whom  we  are  to  worship,  not  Avithout  reason 
or  at  random.     The  more  effectually  to  silence  the  arrogance 
of  the  ungodly,  who  proudly  presume  to  set  at  nought  God 
and  his  chosen   people,   he   contemptuously  ridicules  their 
false  gods,  first  calling  them   idols,  that  is  to  say,  things  of 
nought,  and,  next,  showing  from  their  being  formed  of  inani- 
mate materials,  that  they  are  destitute  of  life  and  feeling. 
For  can  there  be  anything  more  absurd  than  to  expect  assist- 
ance from  them,  since  neither  the  materials  of  which  they 
are  formed,  nor  the  form  which  is  given  to  them  by  the  hand 
of  men,  possess  the  smallest  portion  of  divinity  so  as  to  com- 
mand respect  for  them  ?     At  the   same  time,  the  prophet 
tacitly  indicates  that  the  value  of  the  material  does  not  In- 
vest the  idols  with  more  excellence,  so  that  they  deserve  to 
be  more  highly  esteemed.     Hence  the  passage  may  be  trans- 
lated adversatively,  thus.  Though  they  are  of  gold  and  silver, 
yet  they  are  not  gods,  because  they  are  the  work  of  men's 
hands.     Had  it  been  his  intention  merely  to  depreciate  the 
substance  of  which  they  were  composed,  he  would  rather 
have  called  them  wood  and  stone,  but  at  present  he   speaks 
only  of  gold  and  silver.     In   the  meantime,  the  prophet  re- 
minds us  that  nothing  is  more  unbecoming  than  for  men  to 
say  that  they  can  Impart  either  essence,  or  form,  or  honour 
to  a  god,  since  they  themselves  are  dependant  upon  another 
for  that  life  which  will  soon  disappear.     From  this  it  follows, 
that  the  heathen  vainly  boast  of  receiving  help  from  gods 
of  their  own  devising.     Whence  does  idolatry  take  its  ori- 
gin but  from  the  imaginations  of  men  ?     Having  abundance 


348  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXV. 

of  materials  supplied  to  their  hand,  they  can  make  of  their 
gold  or  silver,  not  only  a  goblet  or  some  other  kind  of  vessel, 
but  also  vessels  for  meaner  purposes,  but  they  prefer  making 
a  god.  And  what  can  be  more  absurd  than  to  convert  a  lifeless 
mass  Into  some  new  deity  ?  Besides,  the  prophet  satirically 
adds,  that  while  the  heathen  fashion  members  for  their  Idols, 
they  cannot  enable  them  to  move  or  use  them.  It  Is  on  this 
account  that  the  faithful  experience  their  privilege  to  be 
the  more  valuable,  in  that  the  only  true  God  is  on  their 
side,  and  because  they  are  well  assured  that  all  the  heathen 
vainly  boast  of  the  aid  which  they  expect  from  their  idols, 
which  are  nothing  but  shadows. 

This  Is  a  doctrine,  however,  which  ought  to  receive  a 
greater  latitude  of  meaning  ;  for  from  It  we  learn,  generally, 
that  It  Is  foolish  to  seek  God  under  outward  Images,  which 
have  no  resemblance  or  relation  to  his  celestial  glory.  To 
this  principle  we  must  still  adhere,  otherwise  It  would  be 
easy  for  the  heathen  to  complain  that  they  were  unjustly 
condemned,  because,  though  they  make  for  themselves  idols 
"upon  earth,  they  yet  were  persuaded  that  God  is  in  heaven. 
They  did  not  imagine  that  Jupiter  was  either  composed 
of  stone,  or  of  gold,  or  of  earth,  but  that  he  was  merely 
represented  under  these  similitudes.  Whence  originated 
this  form  of  address  common  among  the  ancient  Romans, 
"To  make  supplication  before  the  gods,"  but  because  they 
believed  the  Images  to  be,  as  it  were,  the  representations  of 
the  gods  ?^  The  Sicilians,  says  Cicero,  have  no  gods  before 
whom  they  can  present  their  supplications.  He  would  not 
have  spoken  In  this  barbarous  style,  had  the  notion  not  been 
prevalent,  that  the  figures  of  the  heavenly  deities  were  repre- 
sented to  them  in  brass,  or  silver,  or  In  marble ;  ^  and  cherish- 
ing the  notion,  that  In  approaching  these  images  the  gods 

'  "Car  que  vouloit  dire  ceste  fagon  de  parler  dont  usoyent  les  anciens 
Romains,  faire  oraison  deuant  les  dieux  sinon  qu'ils  estimoyent  que  les 
idoles  estoyent  corame  les  representations  des  dieux  ?  " — Fr. 

2  But  though  these  images  might,  at  first,  be  intended  merely  to  bring 
the  real  Deity  before  the  senses,  and  thus  to  impress  the  mind  the  more 
deeply  with  sentiments  of  awe  and  devotion,  yet  in  process  of  time  they 
began  to  be  considered,  especially  by  the  ignorant  multitude,  as  being 
really  gods. 


PSALM  CXV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  349 

were  nearer  to  them,  the  prophet  justly  exposes  this  ridicul- 
ous fancy,  that  they  would  enclose  the  Deity  within  cor- 
ruptible representations,  since  nothing  is  more  foreign  to 
the  nature  of  God  than  to  dwell  under  stone,  or  a  piece  of 
marble,  or  wood,  and  stock  of  a  tree,  or  brass,  or  silver.^ 
For  this  reason,  the  prophet  Habakkuk  designates  that  gross 
mode  of  worshipping  God,  the  school  of  falsehood,  (ii.  18.) 
Moreover,  the  scornful  manner  in  which  he  speaks  of  their 
gods  deserves  to  be  noticed,  ihey  have  a  mouth,  but  they  do  not 
speak ;  for  why  do  we  betake  ourselves  to  God,  but  from  the 
conviction  that  we  are  dependant  upon  him  for  life ;  that  our 
safety  is  in  him,  and  that  the  abundance  of  good,  and  the 
power  to  help  us,  are  with  him  ?  As  these  images  are  sense- 
less and  motionless,  what  can  be  more  absurd  than  to  ask 
from  them  that  of  which  they  themselves  are  destitute  ? 

8.  They  who  make  them  shall  be  like  unto  them.  Many  are 
of  opinion  that  this  is  an  imprecation,  and  hence  translate 
the  future  tense  in  the  optative  mood,  may  they  become  like 


^  The  heathen  not  only  considered  their  idols  or  images  as  representing 
then*  gods,  but  believed  that,  when  consecrated  by  their  priests,  they 
were  thereby  animated  by  the  gods  whom  they  represented,  and  hence 
were  worshipped  as  such.  "  Augustine  {De  Civitate  Dei,  B.  viii.  c  23) 
tells  us  of  the  theology  of  the  heathen,  received  from  Trismegistus,  that 
statues  were  the  bodies  of  their  gods,  which,  by  some  magical  ceremonies, 
or  ^lov^yixi,  were  forced  to  join  themselves  as  souls,  and  so  animate  and 
enliven  those  dead  organs,  to  assume  and  inhabit  them.  And  so  Proclus 
(Z)e  Sacrif.  et  Mag.)  mentions  it  as  the  common  opinion  of  the  Gentiles, 
that  the  '  gods  were,  by  their  favour  and  help,  present  in  theii-  images ; ' 
and,  therefore,  the  Tyrians,  fearing  that  Apollo  would  forsake  them,  bound 
his  image  with  golden  chains,  supposing  then  the  god  could  not  depart 
from  them.  The  like  did  the  Athenians  imagine  when  they  clipped  the 
wings  of  the  image  of  Victory  ;  and  the  Sicilians,  in  Cicero,  {De  Divin.) 
who  complain  that  they  had  no  gods  in  their  island,  because  Verres, 
Prffitor  in  Sicily,  had  taken  away  all  their  statues.  And  so  we  know 
Laban,  when  he  had  lost  his  Teraphim,  tells  Jacob,  (Gen.  xxxi.  30,) 
'  that  he  had  stolen  his  gods  ; '  and  so  of  the  golden  calf,  after  the  feasts 
of  consecration,  proclamation  is  made  before  it,  '  These  be  thy  gods,  O 
Israel !'  But  this  of  the  animation  and  inspiriting  of  images,  by  then- 
rites  of  consecration,  being  but  a  deception  and  fiction  of  their  priests, 
the  Psalmist  here  discovers  it,  and  assures  all  men  that  they  are  as  ina- 
nimate and  senseless  after  the  consecration  as  before ;  base  silver  and 
gold,  with  images  of  mouths  and  ears,  &c.,  but  without  any  power  to 
use  any  of  them,  and,  consequently,  most  unable  to  hear  or  help  their 
votaries." — Hammond. 


350  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXV. 

unto  them.  But  it  will  be  equally  appropriate  to  regard  it  as 
the  language  of  ridicule,  as  if  the  prophet  should  affirm  that  the 
idolaters  are  equally  stupid  with  the  stocks  and  stones  them- 
selves. And  he  deservedly  severely  reprehends  men  naturally 
endued  with  understanding,  because  they  divest  themselves 
of  reason  and  judgment,  and  even  of  common  sense.  For 
those  who  ask  life  from  things  Avhich  are  lifeless,  do  they  not 
endeavour  to  the  utmost  of  their  power  to  extinguish  all  the 
light  of  reason  ?  In  a  word,  were  they  possessed  of  a  particle 
of  common  sense,  they  would  not  attribute  the  properties  of 
deity  to  the  works  of  their  own  hands,  to  which  they  could 
impart  no  sensation  or  motion.  And  surely  this  consideration 
alone  should  suffice  to  remove  the  plea  of  ignorance,  their 
making  false  gods  for  themselves  in  opposition  to  the  plain 
dictates  of  natural  reason.  As  the  legitimate  effect  of  this, 
they  are  wilfully  blind,  envelop  themselves  in  darkness,  and 
become  stupid ;  and  this  renders  them  altogether  inexcusable, 
so  that  they  cannot  pretend  that  their  error  is  the  result  of 
pious  zeal.  And  I  have  no  doubt  that  it  was  the  prophet's 
intention  to  remove  every  cause  and  colour  of  ignorance,  in- 
asmuch as  mankind  spontaneously  become  stupid. 

Whosoever  tnisteth  in  them.  The  reason  why  God  holds 
images  so  much  in  abhorrence  appears  very  plainly  from  this, 
that  he  caniiot  endure  that  the  worship  due  to  himself  should 
be  taken  from  him  and  given  to  them.  That  the  world  should 
acknowledge  him  to  be  the  sole  author  of  salvation,  and  should 
ask  for  and  expect  from  him  alone  all  that  is  needed,  is  an 
honour  which  peculiarly  belongs  to  him.  And,  therefore,  as 
often  as  confidence  is  reposed  in  any  other  than  in  himself, 
he  is  deprived  of  the  worship  which  is  due  to  him,  and  his 
majesty  is,  as  it  were,  annihilated.  The  prophet  inveighs 
against  this  profanity,  even  as  in  many  passages  the  indig- 
nation of  God  is  compared  to  jealousy,  when  he  beholds  idols 
and  false  gods  receiving  the  homage  of  which  he  has  been 
deprived,  (Exod.  xxxiv.  14  ;  Deut.  v.  9.)  If  a  man  carve 
an  image  of  marble,  wood,  or  brass,  or  if  he  cast  one  of  gold 
or  silver,  this  of  itself  would  not  be  so  detestable  a  thing ; 
but  when  men  attempt  to  attach  God  to  their  inventions, 
and  to  make  him,  as  it  were,  descend  from  heaven,  then  a 


PSALM  CXV.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  351 

pure  fiction  is  substituted  in  his  place.  It  is  very  true  that 
God's  glory  is  instantly  counterfeited  when  it  is  invested 
with  a  corruptible  form  ;  ("  To  whom  hast  thou  likened  me?" 
he  exclaims  by  Isaiah,  xl.  25,  and  xlvi.  5,  and  the  Scripture 
abounds  with  such  texts  ;)  nevertheless,  he  is  doubly  injured 
when  his  truth,  and  grace,  and  power,  are  imagined  to  be  con- 
centrated in  idols.  To  make  idols,  and  then  to  confide  in 
them,  are  things  which  are  almost  inseparable.  Else  whence 
is  it  that  the  world  so  strongly  desires  gods  of  stone,  or  of 
wood,  or  of  clay,  or  of  any  earthly  material,  Avere  it  not  that 
they  believe  that  God  is  far  from  them,  until  they  hold  him 
fixed  to  them  by  some  bond  ?  Averse  to  seek  God  in  a 
spiritual  manner,  they  therefore  pull  him  down  from  his  throne, 
and  place  him  under  inanimate  things.  Thus  it  comes  to 
pass,  that  they  address  their  supplications  to  images,  because 
they  imagine  that  in  them  God's  ears,  and  also  his  eyes  and 
hands,  are  near  to  them.  I  have  observed  that  these  two 
vices  can  hardly  be  severed,  namely,  that  those  who,  in  forging 
idols,  change  the  truth  of  God  into  a  lie,  must  also  ascribe 
something  of  divinity  to  them.  When  the  prophet  says  that 
unbelievers  put  their  trust  in  idols,  his  design,  as  I  formerly 
noticed,  was  to  condemn  this  as  the  chief  and  most  detestable 
piece  of  profanity. 

9.   0  Israel !  trust^  thou  in  Jehovah:  he  is  their  help  and  their 
shield. 

1 0.  0  house  of  Aaron  !  trust  ye  in  Jehovah :  he  is  their  help  and 

their  shield. 

11.  Te  that  fear  Jehovah  !  trust  in  Jehovah:  he  is  their  help  and 

their  shield. 

12.  Jehovah  hasheen  mindful  of  us;  he  will  bless  us;  he  will  bless 

the  house  of  Israel;  he  will  bless  the  house  of  Aaron. 

13.  He  will  bless  them  that  fear  Jehovah,  both  the  small  with  the 

great. 

14.  Jehovah  will  add  unto  you,  unto  you  and  unto  your  children. 

1 5.  Blessed  are  ye  of  Jehovah,  who  made  heaven  and  earth. 

'  Mauy  iutei-preters  translate  the  verb  f/ws^,  which  occurs  here  and  in 
the  next  two  verses,  in  the  indicative  mood,  "  Israel  trusteth  in  Jehovah," 
&c. ;  judging  this  to  be  more  agreeable  to  the  occasion  than  the  impera- 
tive, which  is  found  in  the  present  copies  of  the  Hebrew  text.  This 
emendation  is  supported  by  all  the  ancient  versions. 


352  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXV. 

9.  O  Israel !  trust  thou  in  Jehovah.  The  prophet  again  re- 
sumes the  doctrinal  point,  that  the  genuine  worshippers  of 
God  have  no  cause  to  fear  that  he  will  forsake  or  frustrate 
them  in  the  time  of  need  ;  because  he  is  as  much  disposed  to 
provide  for  their  safety  as  he  is  furnished  with  power  to  do 
it.  He  proceeds,  in  the  first  place,  to  exhort  all  the  Israelites 
generally  to  place  their  confidence  in  God ;  and,  secondly, 
he  addresses  the  house  of  Aaron  in  particular ;  and,  thirdly, 
he  sets  down  all  who  fear  God.  For  this  arrangement  there 
was  good  cause.  God  had  adopted  indiscriminately  all  the 
people,  to  whom  also  his  grace  was  offered,  so  that  they  were 
bound  in  common  to  place  their  hope  in  him.  In  accordance 
with  this  Paul  says,  that  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel  wait  for 
the  promised  deliverance,  (Acts  xxvi.  7.)  The  prophet, 
therefore,  with  great  propriety  first  addresses  Israel  at  large. 
But  having  in  a  peculiar  manner  set  apart  the  Levites  for 
himself,  and  more  especially  the  priests  of  the  house  of  Aaron, 
to  take  the  precedence,  and  to  preside  over  ecclesiastical 
matters,  he  demands  more  from  them  than  from  the  common 
people  ;  not  that  salvation  was  promised  specially  to  them, 
but  because  it  was  proper  that  they  who  had  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  entering  the  sanctuary  should  point  out  the  way 
to  others.  As  if  the  prophet  had  said.  Ye  sons  of  Aaron, 
whom  God  hath  chosen  to  be  the  teachers  of  religion  to  his 
people,  be  ye  to  others  an  example  of  faith,  seeing  that  he 
hath  so  highly  honoured  you  in  permitting  you  to  enter  his 
sanctuary. 

11.  Je  icJiofear  Jehovah  I  He  does  not  speak  of  strangers,  as 
some  erroneously  suppose,  as  if  this  were  a  prediction  respect- 
ing the  calling  of  the  Gentiles.  Connecting  them  Avith  the 
children  of  Israel  and  with  the  sons  of  Aaron,  they  are  of  opi- 
nion that  he  refers  to  the  heathens  and  to  the  uncircumcised 
who  were  not  yet  gathered  into  the  sheepfold.  By  parity  of 
reason  one  might  infer,  that  the  priests  are  not  of  the  seed  of 
Abraham,  because  they  are  separately  mentioned.  It  is  more 
probable  that  there  is  in  these  words  a  tacit  correction  of  what 
he  had  said  before,  by  which  he  makes  a  distinction  between 
the  genuine  worshippers  of  God  and  those  hypocrites  who 


PSALM  CXV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  353 

were  the  degenerate  sons  of  Abraham.  Not  a  few  of  the 
seed  of  Abraham  according  to  the  flesh  having  departed  from 
the  faith  of  their  father,  the  prophet  here  restricts  the  pro- 
mise to  those  who,  having  received  it  by  faith,  were  worship- 
ping God  in  purity.  We  now  perceive  the  reason  for  his 
first  addressing  the  Israelites,  next  the  house  of  Aaron,  and 
then  the  fearers  of  Jehovah.  It  is  as  if  a  person  in  our 
times  were  to  point  his  exhortation  first  to  the  whole  body  of 
the  Church,  and  then  come  more  particularly  to  the  ministers 
and  teachers,  who  ought  to  be  ensamples  to  others.  And  as 
many  falsely  pique  themselves  upon  the  mere  name  of  being 
connected  with  the  Church,  and  hence  deserve  not  to  be 
classed  with  God's  true  followers,  he  expressly  mentions  the 
genuine  and  not  the  counterfeit  worshippers  of  God. 

12.  Jehovah  hath  remembered  us.  Many  render  the  term 
bless  in  the  past  tense,  he  has  blessed,  it  being  the  design  of 
the  prophet,  according  to  them,  to  propose  the  past  experi- 
ence of  God's  kindness  as  an  encouragement  to  cherish  good 
hope  for  the  future  :  "  We  have  already,  from  long  experience, 
been  taught  how  valuable  the  favour  of  our  God  is,  because 
from  this  source  alone  have  flowed  our  prosperity,  our  abun- 
dance, and  our  stability."  He  assumes  the  principle,  the 
truth  of  which  ought  to  be  admitted  by  all,  that  we  neither 
enjoy  prosperity  nor  happiness  further  than  it  pleases  God  to 
bless  us.  As  often  as  the  Israelites  were  rescued  from  mani- 
fold dangers,  or  succoured  in  time  of  need,  or  treated  in  a 
friendly  manner,  so  many  palpable  proofs  had  they  of  the 
loving-kindness  of  God  towards  them.  As,  however,  there 
is  no  just  cause  to  urge  us  to  change  the  verb  from  the  future 
into  the  past  tense,  it  is  quite  in  unison  with  the  scope  of  the 
passage,  if  we  say  that  the  same  blessing  is  here  promised  to 
the  faithful  which  they  have  formerly  realised.  Thus  the 
meaning  will  be,  that  God,  mindful  of  his  covenant,  has 
hitherto  been  attentive  to  us ;  therefore,  as  he  has  begun  to 
favour  us,  he  will  continue  to  do  so  for  ever.  In  pronounc- 
ing these  blessings,  he  observes  the  same  order  as  above,  as- 
signing to  the  children  of  Aaron  a  superior  place  in  God's 

VOL.  IV.  z 


354  COMMENTAEY  UPON  PSALM  CXV. 

benediction,  excluding  from  it  those  among  the  Israelites 
who  were  hypocrites. 

He  says,  both  the  small  with  the  great,  by  which  circumstance 
he  magnifies  God's  paternal  regard  the  more,  showing  that 
he  does  not  overlook  even  the  meanest  and  most  despised, 
provided  they  cordially  invoke  his  aid.  Now,  as  there  is  no 
acceptance  of  persons  before  God,  our  low  and  abject  condi- 
tion ought  to  be  no  obstruction  to  our  drawing  near  to  him, 
since  he  so  kindly  invites  to  approach  him  those  who  appear 
to  be  held  in  no  reputation.  Moreover,  the  repetition  of  the 
word  Mess  is  intended  to  mark  the  uninterrupted  stream  of 
his  loving-kindness.  Should  any  prefer  the  past  tense,  he 
has  Messed,  the  meaning  will  be,  that  the  favour  of  God  to- 
wards his  people  has  continued  for  a  long  period,  which  ought 
to  be  a  sure  evidence  of  the  perpetuity  of  his  fatherly  regard. 
This  interpretation  is  strengthened  by  the  subsequent  verse, 
in  which  he  says,  that  God  would  multiply  the  benefits  which 
he  had  up  to  that  time  conferred  upon  them.  For  God's 
liberality  is  an  inexhaustible  fountain,  which  will  never  cease 
to  flow  so  long  as  its  progress  is  not  impeded  by  the  ingrati- 
tude of  men.  And  hence  it  will  be  continued  to  their  pos- 
terity, because  God  manifests  the  grace  and  the  fruit  of  his 
adoption  even  to  a  thousand  generations. 

15.  Ye  are  Messed  of  Jehovah.  In  the  preceding  verse  the 
prophet  had  given  them  the  hope  of  uninterrupted  happiness, 
arising  from  God's  infinite  resources  never  failing,  however 
liberally  and  largely  he  bestows,  and  from  his  never  ceasing 
to  enrich  those  whom  he  hath  admitted  as  sharers  of  his 
bounty.  In  confirmation  of  this  doctrine,  he  declares  that 
the  children  of  Abraham  were  separated  from  other  nations ; 
so  that,  relying  upon  this  privilege,  they  might  unhesitatingly 
and  unreservedly  surrender  themselves  to  a  father  so  benig- 
nant and  bountiful.  And  as  the  flesh,  in  consequence  of  its 
stupidity,  cannot  perceive  the  power  of  God,  the  under- 
standing of  which  preserves  us  in  a  state  of  peace  and  security 
under  his  protection,  the  prophet,  in  designating  him  the 
maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  reminds  us  that  there  is  no  ground 
to  fear  that  he  is  unable  to  defend  us  ;  for,  having  created  the 


PSALM  CXV.       THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  355 

heaven  and  the  earth,  he  does  not  now  remain  unconcerned 
in  heaven,  but  all  creation  is  under  his  sovereign  control. 

16.  The  heavens,  the  heavens  are  Jehovah''s  :  hut  the  earth  he 

hath  given  to  the  children  of  men. 

17.  0  God !  the  dead  shall  not  praise  thee,  nor  those  who  go  doicn 

to  silence. 

18.  But  we  will  bless  God  from  this  time,  and  for  ever.     Praise 

ye  Jehovah. 

16.  The  heavens,  the  heavens  are  JehovaKs.  In  this  passage 
the  prophet  extols  the  bounty  of  God,  and  his  paternal  regard 
for  the  human  race,  in  that,  though  he  stood  in  need  of 
nothing  himself,  he  yet  created  the  world,  with  all  its  fulness, 
for  their  use.  How  comes  it  to  pass  that  the  earth  is  every 
where  covered  with  such  a  great  variety  of  good  things, 
meeting  our  eye  in  all  directions,  unless  that  God,  as  a  pro- 
vident father  of  a  family,  had  designed  to  make  provision  for 
our  wants  ?  In  proportion,  therefore,  to  the  comforts  which 
we  here  enjoy,  are  the  tokens  of  his  fatherly  care.  This  is 
the  prophet's  meaning,  which  I  am  astonished  is  so  little 
attended  to  by  the  most  of  interpreters.  The  amount  is, 
that  God,  satisfied  with  his  own  glory,  has  em-iched  the  earth 
with  abundance  of  good  things,  that  mankind  may  not  lack 
any  thing.  At  the  same  time  he  demonstrates,  that,  as  God  has 
his  dwelling-place  in  the  heavens,  he  must  be  independent  of 
all  worldly  riches  ;  for,  assuredly,  neither  wine,  nor  corn,  nor 
any  thing  requisite  for  the  support  of  the  present  life,  is  pro- 
duced there.  Consequently,  God  has  every  resource  in 
himself.  To  this  circumstance  the  repetition  of  the  term 
heavens  refers,  The  heavens,  the  heavens  are  enough  for  God; 
and  as  he  is  superior  to  all  aid,  he  is  to  himself  instead  of  a 
hundred  worlds.  It  remains,  therefore,  as  another  consequence 
from  this,  that  all  the  riches  with  which  the  world  abounds 
proclaim  aloud  what  a  beneficent  father  God  is  to  mankind. 
It  is  indeed  surprising  that  there  should  be  no  relish  for  this 
doctrine,  considering  that  the  Holy  Spirit  spoke  of  the  ines- 
timable goodness  of  God.  Under  the  papacy,  they  chanted 
this  psalm  in  their  churches,  and  they  continue  the  practice 


356  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXV. 

still ;  but  Is  there  one  among  a  hundred  of  them  who  reflects 
that  God,  in  bestowing  all  good  things  upon  us,  reserves 
nothing  for  himself,  except  a  grateful  acknowledgment  of 
them  ?  And  not  only  in  this  matter  does  the  ingratitude  of 
the  world  appear,  but  the  wicked  wretches  have  conducted 
themselves  most  vilely,  in  open  and  infamous  blasphemy ; 
perverting  this  verse,  and  making  a  jest  of  it,  saying  that 
God  remains  unconcerned  in  heaven,  and  pays  no  regard  to 
the  affairs  of  men.  The  prophet  here  expressly  declares  that 
the  world  is  employed  by  God,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  testi- 
fying his  paternal  solicitude  towards  mankind ;  and  yet  these 
swine  and  dogs  have  made  these  words  a  laughing-stock,  as 
if  God,  by  reason  of  his  vast  distance  from  men,  totally  dis- 
regarded them.  And  here  I  am  induced  to  relate  a  memor- 
able story.  While  we  were  supping  in  a  certain  inn,  and 
speaking  of  the  hope  of  the  heavenly  life,  a  profane  despiser 
of  God  happening  to  be  present,  treated  our  discourse  with 
derision,  and  now  and  then  mockingly  exclaimed,  "  The 
heaven  of  heavens  is  the  Lord's."  Instahtly  afterwards  he 
was  seized  with  dreadful  pain,  and  began  to  vociferate,  "  O  God ! 
O  God ! "  and,  having  a  powerful  voice,  he  filled  the  whole 
apartment  with  his  cries.  Then  I,  who  had  felt  indignant  at 
his  conduct,  proceeded,  in  my  own  way,  to  tell  him  warmly, 
that  now  at  least  he  perceived  that  they  who  mocked  God 
were  not  permitted  to  escape  with  impunity.  One  of  the 
guests,  an  honest  and  pious  man,  yet  alive,  but  withal 
facetious,  employed  the  occasion  thus,  "  Do  you  invoke  God  ? 
Have  you  forgotten  your  philosophy  ?  Why  do  you  not 
permit  him  to  remain  at  ease  in  his  own  heaven  ?"  And  as 
often  as  the  one  bawled  out,  "  O  God ! "  the  other,  mocking  him, 
retorted, ''  Where  is  now  thy  Caelum  cceli  Domino  f  At  that 
time  his  pain  indeed  was  mitigated ;  nevertheless,  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  was  spent  in  impunity. 

17.  O  God!  the  dead  shall  not  praise  thee.  In  these  words 
the  prophet  goes  on  to  beseech  God  to  show  himself  propi- 
tious towards  his  Church,  were  there  no  other  object  to  be 
gained  than  the  preventing  mankind  from  being  utterly  cut 
off,  and  the  preserving  a  people,  not  only  to  enjoy  his  kind- 


PSALM  CXV.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  357 

ness,  but  also  to  invoke  and  praise  his  name.  After  celebrat- 
ing God's  peculiar  favour  towards  the  Israelites,  and  the  bene- 
ficence which  he  displayed  towards  mankind  at  large,  he  has 
recourse  to  the  mercy  of  God  for  the  pardoning  of  the  sins 
of  his  people.  And  he  proceeds  on  this  footing,  that  though 
the  heathen  nations  revel  amidst  the  profuseness  of  God's 
bounty,  yet  the  seed  of  Abraham  alone  are  set  apart  to  cele- 
brate his  praises.  "  Lord,  if  thou  shouldst  allow  us  to  perish, 
what  would  be  the  result,  but  that  thy  name  would  become 
extinct,  and  would  be  entombed  with  us  ?"  From  his 
appearing  to  deprive  the  dead  of  all  sensibility,  a  question 
occurs  :  If  souls,  after  they  have  departed  from  their  cor- 
poreal prison,  still  survive  ?  It  is  certain  that  they  are  then 
more  vigorous  and  active,  and,  therefore,  it  must  inevitably 
follow  that  God  is  also  praised  by  the  dead.  Moreover,  in 
appointing  mankind  their  abode  upon  earth,  he  so  disconnects 
them  with  God,  that  he  leaves  them  a  life  such  as  they  enjoy 
in  common  with  the  brutal  tribes.  For  the  earth  was  not 
given  exclusively  to  men,  but  also  to  oxen,  swine,  dogs,  lions, 
and  bears,  and  what  is  more,  to  every  sort  of  reptile  and  insect. 
For  there  is  not  a  fly,  nor  a  creeping  thing,  however  mean, 
which  the  earth  does  not  supply  with  an  abode.^  The  solution 
of  the  first  question  is  easy.  Men  were  so  situated  on  the 
earth  that  they  might,  as  it  were,  with  one  voice  celebrate  the 
praises  of  God.  And  it  was  to  this  concord  that  the  prophet 
in  this  place  referred,  as  does  also  the  Scripture  in  many  other 
passages.  "  I  shall  not  die,  but  live,  and  declare  the  works  of 
the  Lord,"  (Psc  cxviii.  17.)  The  good  king  Hezekiah  also  said, 
"The  living,  the  living,  he  shall  praise  thee,"  (Isa.  xxxviii.  19.) 
Jonah,  too,  when  cast  out  of  the  belly  of  the  fish,  said,  "  I 
will  offer  sacrifices,  and  I  will  pay  my  vows  unto  the  Lord," 
(Jonah  ii.  10.)  ^     In  short,  the  prophet  very  justly  excludes 

'  "  Nulla  eniin  musca  est,  uullus  pediciilus  cui  domicilium  non  praebeat 
terra." — Lat. 

2  Thus  the  present  text  of  Scripture,  and  others  of  a  similar  kind,  as 
Ps.  vi.  6  ;  XXX.  10  ;  Ixxxviii.  11 ;  and  Isa.  xxxviii.  18,  19,  ai-e  not  to 
be  understood  as  implying  that  the  Hebrews  of  those  times  had  no  idea 
of  a  future  state  of  existence  beyond  death  and  the  grave.  Such  an 
interpretation  would  be  at  variance  with  many  passages  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, as  Fs.  xvi.  10  ;  xlix.  15  ;  Ixxiii.  24  ;  Prov.  xiv.  32  ;  Eccles.  viii. 
11-13  ;  xi.  9 ;  xii.  14;  with  the  most  explicit  declarations  of  the  New, 


358  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXV. 

the  dead  from  taking  any  part  in  the  celebration  of  God's 
praises  ;  for  among  them  there  is  no  commmiion  and  fellow- 
ship qualifying  them  for  mutually  sounding  forth  his  praises  : 
the  proclaiming  of  his  glory  on  the  earth  being  the  very  end 
of  our  existence.  The  reply  to  the  second  inquiry  is  this  : 
The  prophet  says  that  the  earth  was  given  to  mankind, 
that  they  might  employ  themselves  in  God's  service,  until 
they  be  put  in  possession  of  everlasting  felicity.  True, 
indeed,  the  abundance  of  the  earth  belongs  also  to  the 
brutal  tribes;  but  the  Holy  Spirit  declares  that  all  things 
were  created  principally  for  the  use  of  men,  that  they 
might  thereby  recognise  God  as  their  father.  In  fine,  the 
prophet  concludes  that  the  whole  course  of  nature  would 
be  subverted,  unless  God  saved  his  Church.  The  creation 
of  the  world  would  serve  no  good  purpose,  if  there  were  no 
people  to  call  upon  God.  Hence  he  infers  that  there  wiU 
always  be  some  left  alive  upon  the  earth.  And  he  not  only 
promises  that  the  Church  shall  be  preserved,  but  also  calls 
upon  all  who  are  thus  preserved  to  offer  a  tribute  of  grati- 
tude to  their  deliverer;  and,  moreover,  he  engages  in  their 
name  to  set  forth  the  praises  of  God.  He  does  not  speak 
merely  of  the  persons  who  belong  to  one  age,  but  of  the  whole 
body  of  the  Church  which  God  upholds  from  one  genera- 
tion after  another,  that  he  may  never  leave  himself  without 
some  to  testify  and  declare  his  justice,  goodness,  and  mercy. 

as  to  the  possession  of  this  knowledge  by  the  ancient  Hebrews,  Heb.  xi. ; 
Luke  XX.  37  ;  and  Avith  what  might  reasonably  be  supposed  of  persons 
who  were  favoured  with  a  supernatural  revelation,  and  who  enjoyed  special 
intercourse  with  God,  but  who,  had  they  been  ignorant  of  a  future  state, 
knew  less  on  this  subject  than  Pagan  writers,  many  of  whom  anticipated 
such  a  state  in  which  virtue  would  receive  its  appi'opriate  reward.  In 
such  passages  the  sensible  appearances  occasioned  by  death,  and  these 
alone,  are  represented.  As  to  the  eye  of  sense,  nothing  appears  in  the 
victim  of  death  but  inactivity,  silence,  decay,  and  corruption,  the  sacred 
Avriters  seize  upon  these  concomitants  of  that  solemn  and  affecting  event 
to  add  to  the  force  of  the  argument  which  they  are  prosecuting. 


rSALM  CXVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  359 


PSALM  CXVI. 

David,  being  delivered  out  of  very  great  dangers,  relates  what  cruel 
torment  and  anguish  of  mind  he  endured,  and  then  how  remarkably 
he  was  preserved  by  God.  The  desperate  state  of  matters  with  him 
tended  to  make  the  power  of  God  in  his  preservation  more  conspicu- 
ous ;  for  had  not  God  interposed  for  his  deliverance,  all  hope  would 
have  failed.  In  this  Avay  he  stirs  himself  up  to  gratitude,  and  acknow- 
ledges that  he  can  make  no  other  return  to  him  for  his  innumerable 
benefits.'- 

1.  I  have  loved,  because  Jehovah  shall  hear  the  voice  of  my  sup- 
plication. 2.  Because  he  hath  inclined  his  ear  to  me,  and 
during  my  days  I  will  call  upon  him.  3.  The  snares^  of 
death  compassed  me,^  and  the  sorrows  of  the  grave  found 

'  This  psalm  is  without  a  title  in  the  Hebrew,  although  the  LXX.  have 
prefixed  to  it  Hallelujah,  with  which  Psalm  cxv.  ends.  There  have  been 
various  conjectures  among  interpreters  as  to  its  author.  Some  ascribe 
it  to  Hezekiah,  and  suppose  it  to  relate  to  his  recovery  from  the  danger- 
ous sickness  recorded  in  Isa.  xxxviii.  Others  think  that  it  was  com- 
posed by  David  upon  his  deliverance  from  the  rebellion  excited  by  his 
son  Absalom,  after  which  he  immediately  had  liberty  to  return  to  the 
sanctuary  and  public  assembly  at  Jerusalem,  verses  14,  18,  and  19. 
This  opinion  is  confirmed  from  verse  11,  in  which  he  speaks  of  having 
for  a  time,  under  the  sad  experience  of  human  treachery  and  deception, 
pronounced  all  men  to  be  liars ;  a  state  of  feeling  more  applicable  to 
David's  distressed  circumstances  during  the  rebellion  of  his  son,  than  to 
Hezekiah  on  his  recovery  from  sickness. 

2  The  root  of  the  Hebrew  word  'hin^,  chehlei,  here  rendered  snares,  "  is 
^^ri)  which  signifies  to  bind,  and  in  Piel  conj.,  to  pain,  or  torment.  Gese- 
nius,  in  his  Thesaurus,  under  'pnrii  says  : — '  Pi.  i.  q.  Kal,  No.  1,  torsit,  inde 
cum.  tormentis  et  doloribus  enixa  est.''  ^^n  consequently  signifies  pain,  or 
cable.  It  would  seem  from  the  verb  to  which  it  is  a  subject,  that  the  latter 
is  the  more  suitable  sense,  whilst  the  parallelism  is  in  favour  of  the  former. 
The  former,  however,  is  here  contained  in  the  latter,  for  the  expression 
niD  *'?2n  alludes  to  the  custom  of  binding  the  victims  for  slaughter,  or 
malefactors  Avhen  taken  to  the  place  of  execution  ;  which  binding  was 
productive  of  gi-eat  pain." — Phillips.  See  vol.  i.  p.  264.  Cresswell  reads, 
"  The  straits  of  the  grave,  that  is,  the  terrors  of  instant  death,  had  found 
me.'''' 

3  " — '  compassed  me.'  The  original  word  Pjsx  expresses  the  repeti- 
tion of  the  encircling  of  the  toils.  They  surrounded  him  again  and 
again." — Horsley. 


360  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVI. 

we :  1  /  found  tribulation  and  grief.  4.  And  I  will  call 
upon  the  name  of  Jehovah ;  I  beseech  thee,  0  Jehovah  1 
deliver  my  soul. 

1.  I  have  loved,  because  Jehovah  will  hear  the  voice  of  my 
supplication.  At  the  very  commencement  of  this  psalm 
David  avows  that  he  was  attracted  with  the  sweetness  of 
God's  goodness,  to  place  his  hope  and  confidence  in  him  alone. 
This  abrupt  mode  of  speaking,  /  have  loved,  is  the  more  em- 
phatic, intimating  that  he  could  receive  joy  and  repose  no- 
where but  in  God.  We  know  that  our  hearts  will  be  always 
wandering  after  fruitless  pleasures,  and  harassed  ^\dth  care, 
until  God  knit  them  to  himself.  This  distemper  David 
affirms  was  removed  from  him,  because  he  felt  that  God  was 
indeed  propitious  towards  him.  And,  having  found  by  ex- 
perience that,  in  general,  they  who  call  upon  God  are  happy, 
he  declares  that  no  allurements  shall  draw  him  away  from 
God.  When,  therefore,  he  says,  /  have  loved,  it  imports 
that,  without  God,  nothing  would  be  pleasant  or  agreeable  to 
him.  From  this  we  are  instructed  that  those  who  have  been 
heard  by  God,  but  do  not  place  themselves  entirely  under  his 
guidance  and  guardianship,  have  derived  little  advantage  from 
the  experience  of  his  grace. 

The  second  verse  also  refers  to  the  same  subject,  excepting 
that  the  latter  clause  admits  of  a  very  appropriate  meaning, 
which  expositors  overlook.  The  phrase,  during  my  days  I 
iinll  call  upon  him,  is  uniformly  understood  by  them  to  mean, 
I,  who  hitherto  have  been  so  successful  in  addressing  God, 
will  pursue  the  same  course  all  my  life  long.     But  it  should 

1  Frj-'s  translation  of  this  clause  is  : — 

"  The  nets  of  Hades  had  caught  hold  upon  me ; " 

on  which  he  has  the  following  note : — "  Or,  according  to  the  usual  mean-' 
ing  oiy\^  and  -i-jv,  '  the  pangs  or  pains  of  hell.'  It  is  not  impossible, 
indeed,  that  it  should  be  derived  ft-om  i^J  ;  "vve  might  then  render,  '  The 
purveyors  of  Hades  had  found  me :'  and  the  imagery,  at  any  rate,  seems 
to  be  taken  from  the  toils  of  the  hunter.  Michaelis  would  read  iii^^rD, 
'  nets,' instead  of  nVD,  pangs;  but  it  is  very  probable  that,  without 
any  change,  myo  signifies  some  part  of  the  apparatus  of  hunting. 
'  "l^J3»  «  strait^  distress^  angustia.''  Ps.  cxviii.  5  ;  cxvi.  3  ;  Lam.  i.  3.  In 
which  last  text,  Mr  Lowth  says  that '  there  is  a  metaphor  from  those 
that  hunt  a  prey,  which  they  diive  into  some  strait  and  narrow  passage, 
from  whence  there  is  no  making  an  escape.'" 


PSALM  CXVr.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  361 

be  considered  whether  it  may  not  be  equally  appropriate  that 
the  days  of  David  be  regarded  as  denoting  a  fit  season  of  asking 
assistance,  the  season  when  he  was  hard  pressed  by  necessity. 
I  am  not  prevented  from  adopting  this  signification,  because 
it  may  be  said  that  the  proplxet  employs  the  future  tense  of 
the  verb  {<1p{<,  ekra.  In  the  first  verse  also,  the  term,  he 
shall  hear,  is  to  be  understood  in  the  past  tense,  he  has  heard, 
in  which  case  the  copulative  conjunction  would  require  to  be 
taken  as  an  adverb  of  time,  ivhen,  a  circumstance  this  by  no 
means  unusual  among  the  Hebrews.  The  scope  of  the  pass- 
age will  run  very  well  thus :  Because  he  has  bowed  his  ear 
to  me  when  I  called  upon  him  in  the  time  of  my  adversity, 
and  even  at  the  season,  too,  when  I  was  reduced  to  the 
greatest  straits.  If  any  are  disposed  to  prefer  the  former 
exposition,  I  will  not  dispute  the  matter  with  them.  The 
subsequent  context,  however,  appears  to  countenance  the 
latter  meaning,  in  which  David  commences  energetically  to 
point  out  what  those  days  were.  And,  with  the  design  of 
magnifying  God's  glory  according  to  its  desert,  he  says  that 
there  was  no  way  of  his  escaping  from  death,  for  he  was  like 
one  among  enemies,  bound  Math  fetters  and  chains,  from  whom 
all  hope  of  deliverance  was  cut  off.  He  acknowledges,  there- 
fore, that  he  was  subjected  to  death,  that  he  was  overtaken 
and  seized,  so  that  escape  was  impossible.  And  as  he  declares 
that  he  was  hound  by  the  cords  of  death,  so  he,  at  the  same 
time,  adds,  that  he  fell  into  tribulation  and  sorrow.  And  here 
he  confirms  what  he  said  formerly,  that  when  he  seemed  to 
be  most  forsaken  of  God,  that  was  truly  the  proper  time, 
and  the  right  season  for  him  to  give  himself  to  prayer. 

5.  Jehovah  is  gracious  and  just  ;  our  God  is  merciful. 

6.  Jehovah  guards  the  simple ;  I  was  brought  low,  and  he  saved  me. 

7.  Return,  0  my  soul .'  into  thy  rest ;  for  Jehovah  hath  recompensed 

unto  thee. 

8.  Because  thou  hast  delivered  my  soul  from  death,  mine  eyes 

from  tears,  and  my  feet  from  falling. 

9.  /  will  walk  in  the  presence  of  Jehovah  in  the  land  of  the 

living, 

5.  Jehovah  is  gracious.     He  comes  now  to  point  out  the 


362  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVI. 

fruits  of  that  love  of  which  he  spoke,  setting  before  him 
God's  titles,  in  order  that  they  might  serve  to  preserve  his 
faith  in  him.  First,  he  denominates  him  gracious,  because 
he  is  so  ready  graciously  to  render  assistance.  From  this 
source  springs  that  justice  which  he  displays  for  the  protec- 
tion of  his  own  people.  To  this  is  subjoined  mercy,  Avithout 
which  we  Avould  not  deserve  God's  aid.  And  as  the  afflictions 
which  overtake  us  frequently  appear  to  preclude  the  exercise 
of  his  justice,  hence  it  follows  that  there  is  nothing  better  than 
to  repose  upon  him  alone  ;  so  that  his  fatherly  kindness  may 
engross  our  thoughts,  and  that  no  voluptuous  pleasure  may 
steal  them  away  to  any  thing  else.  He  then  accommodates 
the  experience  of  God's  benignity  and  equity  to  the  preserving 
of  the  simple,  that  is,  of  such  as,  being  undesigning,  do  not 
possess  the  requisite  prudence  for  managing  their  own  affairs. 
The  term,  rendered  simple,  is  often  understood  in  a  bad  sense, 
denoting  persons  inconsiderate  and  foolish,  who  will  not  follow 
wholesome  advice.  But,  in  this  place,  it  is  applied  to  those 
who  are  exposed  to  the  abuse  of  the  wicked,  who  are  not 
sufficiently  subtile  and  circumspect  to  elude  the  snares  which 
are  laid  for  them, — in  short,  to  those  who  are  easily  over- 
reached ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  the  children  of  this  world 
are  full  of  ingenuity,  and  have  every  means  at  their  command 
for  maintaining  and  protecting  themselves.  David,  therefore, 
acknowledsres  himself  to  be  as  a  child,  unable  to  consult 
his  own  safety,  and  totally  unjfit  to  ward  off  the  dangers  to 
which  he  was  exposed.  Hence  the  LXX.  have  not  impro- 
perly translated  the  Hebrew  term  by  the  Greek,  ra,  vri'rria, 
little  children}  The  amount  is,  that  when  those  who  are 
liable  to  suffering  have  neither  the  prudence  nor  the  means 
of  effecting  their  deliverance,  God  manifests  his  wisdom 
towards    them,    and    interposes    the    secret    protection    of 

^  This  rendering  of  the  LXX.  also  suggests  the  idea  of  weakness^  which 
Fry  has  adopted,  who  reads,  "  Jchovaii  preserveth  the  weak."  "  The 
usual  meauiug  of  Q^xns/'  says  he,  "  is  simplices,  fatui.,  persuasu  faciles  ; 
but  I  believe  the  Scptuagint  has  preserved  the  true  meaning  of  the 
passage,  ^vJ^xtra-uv  rcc  vijTcix  6  Kv^iog.  The  leading  idea  of  nDQ  is  laxiti/ 
or  yielding^  and  may  as  well  apply  to  the  weakness  of  the  body,  or  of 
the  faculties  of  the  mind,  under  the  pressure  of  grief  and  pain,  as  to  the 
relaxing  of  the  powers  of  the  understanding,  in  yielding  to  the  seductions 
of  folly  or  vice." 


PSALM  CXVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  363 

his  providence  between  them  and  all  the  dangers  by  which 
their  safety  may  be  assailed.  In  fine,  David  holds  forth 
himself  as  a  personal  example  of  this  fact,  in  that,  after  being 
reduced  to  the  greatest  straits,  he  had,  by  the  grace  of  God, 
been  restored  to  his  former  state. 

7.  Return,  O  my  soul!  unto  thy  rest.  He  now  exhorts  himself 
to  be  of  good  courage  ;  or  rather,  addressing  his  soul,  tells  it 
to  be  tranquil,  because  God  was  propitious  towards  him.  By 
the  term  rest,  some  commentators  understand  God  himself, 
but  this  is  an  unnatural  interpretation.  It  is  rather  to  be 
regarded  as  expressive  of  a  calm  and  composed  state  of  mind. 
For  it  is  to  be  noticed,  that  David  confesses  himself  to  have 
been  sorely  agitated  and  perplexed  amid  an  accumulation  of 
ills,  in  the  same  way  as  each  of  us  is  conscious  of  his  own 
inquietude,  when  the  terrors  of  death  encompass  us.  Although, 
therefore,  David  possessed  unusual  fortitude,  he  was  yet  dis- 
tressed by  reason  of  the  conflict  of  grief,  and  an  inward  tremor 
so  distracted  his  mind,  that  he  justly  complains  of  being 
deprived  of  his  peace.  He  declares,  however,  that  the  grace 
of  God  was  adequate  to  quiet  all  these  troubles. 

It  may  be  asked,  whether  the  experience  of  the  grace  of 
God  alone  can  allay  the  fear  and  trepidation  of  our  minds  ; 
since  David  declares,  that,  having  experienced  relief  from 
Divine  aid,  he  Avould,  for  the  future,  be  at  rest  ?  If  the 
faithful  regain  their  peace  of  mind  only  when  God  manifests 
himself  as  their  deliverer,  what  room  is  there  for  the  exercise 
of  faith,  and  what  power  will  the  promises  possess  ?  For, 
assuredly,  to  wait  calmly  and  silently  for  those  indications  of 
God's  favour,  which  he  conceals  from  us,  is  the  undoubted 
evidence  of  faith.  And  strong  faith  quiets  the  conscience, 
and  composes  the  spirit ;  so  that,  according  to  Paul,  "  the 
peace  of  God,  which  passeth  all  understanding,"  reio-ns 
supremely  there,  Philip,  iv.  7.  And  hence  the  godly  remain 
unmoved,  though  the  whole  world  were  about  to  go  to  ruin. 
What  is  the  import  of  this  returning  unto  rest  ?  I  answer, 
that  however  much  the  children  of  God  may  be  driven  hither 
and  thither,  yet  they  constantly  derive  support  from  the 
word  of  God,  so  that  they  cannot  totally  and  finally  fall 


364  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVI. 

away.  Confiding  in  his  promises,  they  throw  themselves 
upon  his  providence ;  and  still  they  are  sorely  distressed  by 
disquieting  fears,  and  sadly  buffeted  by  the  storms  of  temp- 
tation. No  sooner  does  God  come  to  their  assistance,  than 
not  only  inward  peace  takes  possession  of  their  minds,  but, 
from  the  manifestation  of  his  grace,  they  are  supplied  with 
grounds  for  joy  and  gladness.  Of  this  latter  kind  of  quiet- 
ness David  here  treats :  declaring  that,  notwithstanding  of 
all  the  prevalence  of  agitation  of  mind,  it  was  now  time  for 
him  to  delight  himself  calmly  in  God.  The  term  7^^,  gamal, 
is  improperly  rendered  to  reward;  because,  in  Hebrew,  it 
usually  signifies  to  confer  a  favour,  as  well  as  to  give  a 
recompense  ;  which  is  confirmed  by  him  in  the  following 
verse,  in  which  he  says  that  his  soul  was  delivered  from  death. 
This,  then,  properly  speaking,  is  the  recompense  ;  namely, 
that  God,  in  delivering  him  from  death,  had  wiped  away  the 
tears  from  his  eyes.  The  arrangement  of  the  words  is  trans- 
posed ;  for,  according  to  our  idiom,  we  would  rather  have 
said,  he  hath  delivered  my  feet  from  falling,  and  mine  eyes 
from  tears,  and  then  he  hath  delivered  my  soul  from  death ; 
for  we  are  wont  to  follow  that  arrangement,  by  which  the 
most  imj^ortant  circumstance  comes  to  be  mentioned  last. 
Among  the  Hebrews  such  a  collocation  of  the  words,  as  in 
this  passage,  is  by  no  means  improper.  This  is  their  import : 
God  has  not  only  rescued  me  from  present  death,  but  also 
treated  me  with  farther  kindness,  in  chasing  away  sorrow, 
and  stretching  out  his  hand  to  prevent  me  from  stumbling. 
The  grace  of  God  is  enhanced,  in  that  he  restored  to  life  one 
who  had  been  almost  dead. 

9.  /  will  walk  in  the  presence  of  Jehovah.  To  walk  in  the 
presence  of  God  is,  in  my  opinion,  equivalent  to  living  under 
his  charge.  And  thus  David  expects  to  enjoy  his  safety 
continually.  For  nothing  is  more  desirable  than  that  God 
should  be  upon  the  watch  for  us,  that  our  life  may  be  sur- 
rounded by  his  protecting  care.  The  wicked,  indeed,  regard 
themselves  as  secure,  the  farther  they  are  from  God ;  but 
the  godly  consider  themselves  happy  in  this  one  thing,  that 
He  directs  the  whole  tenor  of  their  life.     God  being  the 


PSALM  CXVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  365 

preserver  of  his  life,  David  declares  that  he  shall  live.  In 
adding,  in  the  land  of  the  living,  he  means  to  point  out  to  us 
the  course  that  we  are  expected  to  pursue  ;  and  that,  almost 
every  moment  of  time,  fresh  destructions  press  upon  us,  if 
he  overlook  us. 


10.  I  have  believed,  therefore  I  will  speak  ;i  lam  ajiicted  very 

sore. 

11.  I  said  in  mi/ fear,  Ever?/  man  is  a  liar.^ 

10.  I  have  believed.  That  his  wonderful  deliverance  may 
appear  the  more  conspicuous,  he  again  relates  the  imminent 
danger  in  which  he  had  been  placed.  He  begins  by  declaring 
that  he  spake  in  the  true  sincerity  of  his  heart,  and  that 
nothing  proceeded  from  his  lips  but  what  was  the  fruit  of 
long  reflection,  and  mature  deliberation.  Such  is  the  import 
of  the  clause,  /  have  believed,  therefore  I  will  speak;  words 
which  proceed  from  the  full  affection  of  the  heart.  In  2  Cor. 
iv.  13,  Paul,  quoting  this  passage,  follows  the  Greek  version, 
"  I  believed,  therefore  I  have  spoken."  I  have  elsewhere 
remarked  that  it  was  not  the  design  of  the  apostles  to  repeat 
every  word  and  syllable ;  it  is  enough  for  us  that  the  words 
of  David  are  appropriately  applied  in  their  proper  and  natural 
sense  to  the  subject  to  which  Paul  there  refers.  Having 
referred  indirectly  to  the  Corinthians,  who  were  exalting 
themselves  above  the  clouds,  as  if  they  had  been  exempted 
from  the  common  lot  of  mankind,  "  I  believed,"  says  he, 
"  and  therefore  I  have  spoken,  that  he  who  hath  once  raised 
Christ  from  the  dead,  will  also  extend  Christ's  life  to  us  ;" 

^  " '  I  believed,  therefore  have  I  spoken  ;'  I  firmly  believe  what  I  say, 
therefore  I  make  no  scruple  of  saying  it.  This  should  be  connected  with 
the  preceding  verse,  and  the  full  stop  should  be  placed  at  '  spoken.'  " — 
Horsley. 

2  Horsley's  version  of  this  verse  is  as  follows; — '"In  an  ecstacyof 
despair,  I  said,  the  whole  race  of  man  is  a  delusion.'  '  A  delusion,'  a  he, 
a  cheat,  a  thing  of  nothing,  made  to  no  purpose.  So  Mudge  understands 
this  latter  part.  He  judiciously  observes,  that  the  prefixed  n  necessarily 
determines  the  phrase,  DINn  ^3i  to  the  collective  sense  of  the  whole 
race.  Evert/  man,  or  all  men,  should  be  mx  ^3,  without  n-"  Fry 
similarly  translates,  "The  entire  of  the  manhood  is  a  lie;  or,"  he  ob- 
serves, "  (as  the  Avord  we  render  lie  signifies,)  a  thing  failing  and  disap- 
pointing the  hopes  built  upon  it." 


366  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVI. 

that  is,  I  believe,  and  therefore  I  speak.  Thus  he  charges 
the  Corinthians  with  being  inflated  with  foohsh  pride,  because 
they  do  not  humbly  submit  to  the  cross  of  Christ ;  especially 
as  they  ought  to  speak  in  the  exercise  of  the  same  spirit  of 
faith  with  himself.  The  particle  '•^,  hi,  which  we  translate 
therefore,  is  by  some  Hebrew  interpreters  understood  as  a 
disjunctive  particle ;  but  the  more  correct  meaning,  and 
which  is  supported  by  the  best  scholars,  is,  I  will  speak 
nothing  but  the  sentiments  of  my  heart.  The  drift  of  the 
passage,  too,  requires  this  ;  namely,  that  the  external  profes- 
sions of  the  lips  correspond  with  the  internal  feelings  of  the 
heart ;  for  many  talk  inconsiderately,  and  utter  what  never 
entered  into  their  hearts.  "  Let  no  person  imagine  that  I 
employ  unmeaning  or  exaggerated  terms ;  what  I  speak,  the 
same  I  have  truly  believed."  From  this  we  learn  the  useful 
doctrine,  that  faith  cannot  remain  inoperative  in  the  heart, 
but  that  it  must,  of  necessity,  manifest  itself.  Here  the  Holy 
Spirit  unites,  with  a  sacred  bond,  the  faith  of  the  heart  with 
outward  confession ;  and  "  what  God  hath  joined  together, 
let  not  man  put  asunder."  Those  dissemblers,  therefore,  who 
spontaneously  envelop  their  faith  in  obscurity,  treacherously 
corrupt  the  whole  Word  of  God.  We  must  remember,  how- 
ever, that  the  order  which  David  here  observes  is  demanded 
of  all  God's  children,  their  believing,  before  they  make  any 
professions  with  their  lips.  But,  as  I  said,  he  speaks  of  his 
imminent  danger,  that  he  may  the  more  enhance  the  safety 
and  deliverance  which  God  had  vouchsafed  to  him. 

11.  I  said  in  my  fear.  Some  take  the  word  TSPlj  chaphaz, 
to  denote  haste  ov  flight,  and  consider  it  as  expressive  of  what 
David  said  when  he  fled  in  great  haste  from  the  face  of  Saul. 
But,  as  it  figuratively  signifies  fear,  I  have  no  doubt  that 
David  here  declares  that  he  felt  astonished  and  dejected  in 
spirit,  as  if  he  were  upon  the  brink  of  a  precipice,  ready  to 
tumble  into  the  abyss.  He  acknowledges  that,  when  he  was 
so  dreadfully  harassed  in  mind,  his  heart  had  almost  sunk 
within  him.  Annotators  are  not  agreed  about  the  meaning 
of  the  second  member  of  the  verse.  One  class  holding  that 
David  declares  that  he  doubted  the  promise  of  the  kingdom 


PSALM  CXVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  367 

made  to  him  by  the  prophet  Samuel.  That  Samuel  was  a 
competent  witness,  admits  of  no  question  ;  but  when  David 
saw  himself  banished  from  his  native  country,  and  constantly 
exposed  to  death  in  various  forms,  he  might  be  overtaken  by 
the  temptation  that  he  had  been  vainly  and  ineffectually 
anointed  by  Samuel.  According  to  them,  the  meaning  is — 
I  had  almost  perished  in  my  flight,  and  the  promise  given 
me  fled  away;  and,  moreover,  I  had  been  deceived  by  delusive 
hope.  Another  class,  putting  an  opposite  interpretation  upon 
this  passage,  assert  that  David  surmounted  the  temptation ; 
so  that,  when  Satan  by  his  wiles  wished  to  make  hira  despair, 
he  instantly  recovered  himself;  and  removed  all  occasion  of 
unbelief  in  the  following  manner :  "  What  art  thou  doing, 
miserable  man  that  thou  art,  and  whither  art  thou  hastening  ? 
Darest  thou,  even  indirectly,  impute  falsehood  to  God  ?  Nay, 
rather  let  Hira  be  true,  and  let  vanity,  and  falsehood,  and 
perfidy,  lie  at  thine  own  door."  My  own  opinion  is,  that  this 
doctrine  is  to  be  understood  more  generally,  that  David  did 
not  intend  this  prediction  directly  for  himself;  but,  his  mind 
being  perplexed,  he  inadvertently  entangled  himself  in  the 
snares  of  Satan,  and  was  unable  to  place  his  confidence  any 
where.  The  faithful  often  stagger,  and  Satan  bringing  them 
into  a  state  of  deep  darkness,  the  word  of  God  almost  forsakes 
them ;  still  they  do  not  abandon  their  confidence,  nor  deli- 
berately charge  God  with  falsehood,  but  rather  keep  their 
evil  thoughts  under  restraint.  The  verb  to  say,  among  the 
Hebrews,  is  expressive  of  firm  persuasion,  as  we  say  in  French, 
J' ay  conclu,  ou  resolu,  "  I  have  concluded,  or  resolved ;"  and, 
therefore,  we  are  to  understand  that  this  temptation  could 
not  enter  David's  heart,  without  his  instantly  withstanding 
it.  Consequently,  the  view  which  I  have  given  of  the  pass- 
age is  the  proper  one,  That  David  did  not  see  God  during 
this  season  of  mental  darkness.  The  faithful  do  not  deli- 
berately speak  against  God,  or  ask  whether  he  be  true  or 
not,  nor  does  this  horrid  blasphemy  completely  engross  their 
thoughts ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  as  often  as  it  arises,  they 
banish  it  from  them,  and  hold  it  in  abhorrence.  Nevertheless, 
it  occasionally  happens  that  they  are  so  troubled,  that  they 
behold   nothing   except   vanity  and   falsehood.      Such  was 


368  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVI. 

David's  experience  during  this  fear  and  trouble  ;  he  felt  as  if 
a  dense  fog  obstructed  his  vision.  "  There  is  no  certainty, 
no  security.  What  shall  I  think  ?  In  what  shall  I  confide  ? 
To  what  shall  I  have  recourse  ?"  Frequently  do  the  faithful 
thus  reason  with  themselves,  there  is  no  trust  to  be  reposed 
in  men.  A  veil  is  spread  over  their  eyes,  which,  preventing 
them  from  seeing  the  light  of  God,  causes  them  to  grovel 
upon  the  earth,  till,  being  elevated  above  the  heavens,  they 
begin  anew  to  discern  the  truth  of  God. 

The  design  of  David,  as  I  formerly  observed,  is  in  all 
respects  to  magnify  the  grace  of  God  ;  and  for  this  purpose, 
in  speaking  of  his  trials,  he  acknowledges  that  he  did  not 
deserve  divine  help  and  comfort ;  for  he  ought  to  have  recol- 
lected, that,  depending  on  the  prophecy,  he  would  have  risen 
superior  to  all  unbelief.  This,  he  says,  he  did  not  do,  because, 
owing  to  the  perturbation  of  his  mind,  he  could  see  nothing 
but  vanity.  If  his  faith  was  shaken  in  this  violent  manner, 
what  will  we  do  if  God  do  not  support  and  sustain  us  ?  This 
is  not  meant  to  keep  the  faithful  in  suspense  between  doubt 
and  uncertainty,  but  rather  to  make  them  call  more  earnestly 
upon  God.  We  ought  to  consider  this  trial  attentively,  for 
we  can  form  no  conception  of  these  assaults  until  we  actually 
experience  them.  Let  us  at  the  same  time  remember,  that 
David's  attack  was  only  temporary,  continuing  while  he  was 
perplexed  with  doubt,  in  consequence  of  the  prophecy  having 
escaped  from  his  recollection. 

12.  What  shall  I  render  unto  Jehovah  ?  all  his  benefits  are  upon 

me. 

13.  I  will  take  the  cup  of  salvation,^  and  call  upon  the  name  of 

Jehovah. 

14.  /  will  pay  my  vows  to  Jehovah  now  in  the  presence  of  all 

his  people. 

12.  JVJiat  shall  I  render  unto  Jehovah  ?  He  now  exclaims 
with  devout  admiration,  that  the  multitude  of  God's  benefits 
was  greater  than  he  could  find  language  to  give  expression  to 

^  "  C'est,  des  deliverances." — Fr.  marg.    "  That  is,  of  deliverances." 


PSALM  CXVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  369 

the  grateful  emotions  of  his  heart.     The  question  is   em- 
phatic, What  shall  I  render  ?   and  imports,  that  it  was  not 
the  desire,  but  the   means,  of  which  he  was  destitute,  to 
enable  him  to  render  thanks  to  God.     Acknowleds-ing-  his 
inability,    he    adopts    the    only    means    in    his    power,    by 
extolling  the  grace  of  God  as  highly  as  he  could.     "  I  am 
exceedingly  wishful  to  discharge  my  duty,  but  when  I  look 
around  me,  I  find  nothing  which  will  prove  an  adequate 
recompense."     Some   understand    the  phrase,    upon   me,  to 
intimate,  that  David  had  the  recollection  of  all  the  benefits 
which   God   bestowed   on    him    deeply   engraven    upon  his 
mind.     Others,  along  with  the  LXX.,  supply  the  particle 
for,   What  shall  I  render   unto   Jehovah  for  all   his   benefits 
towards  me  ?     But  it  is  much  better  to  make  the  first  clause 
of  the  verse  a  complete  sentence,  by  putting  a  period  after 
Jehovah.     Because,    after   confessing    his   incompetency,   or 
rather  his  having  nothing  to  offer  to  God  as  a  sufficient  com- 
pensation for  his  benefits,  he  at  the  same  time  adds  in  con- 
firmation of  it,  that  he  was  laid  under  such  obligations,  not 
by  one  series  of  benefits  only,  but  by  a  variety  of  innumerable 
benefits.     "  There  is  no  benefit  on  account  of  which  God  has 
not  made  me  a  debtor  to  him,  how  should  I  have  means  of 
repaying  him  for  them  ?"  All  recompense  failing  him,  he  has 
recourse  to  an  expression  of  thanksgiving  as  the  only  return 
which  he  knows  will  be  acceptable  to  God.    David's  example 
in  this  instance  teaches  us  not  to  treat  God's  benefits  lightly 
or  carelessly,  for  if  we  estimate  them  according  to  their  value, 
the  very  thought  of  them  ought  to  fill  us  with  admiration. 
There  is  not  one  of  us  who  has  not  God's  benefits  heaped 
upon  us.     But  our  pride,  which  carries  us  away  into  extra- 
vagant theories,  causes  us  to  forget  this  very  doctrine,  Avhich 
ought   nevertheless    to   engage    our   unremitting    attention. 
And  God's  bounty  towards  us  merits  the  more  praise,  that 
he  expects  no  recompense  from  us,  nor  can  receive  any,  for 
he  stands  in  need  of  nothing,  and  we  are  poor  and  destitute 
of  all  things. 

13.  Tlie  cup  of  salvation.   He  refers  to  a  custom  which  was 
prevalent  under  the  Law.      For  when  they  rendered  solemn 
thanks  to  God,  a  feast  was  also  appointed,  at  which,  in  token 
VOL.  IV.  2  A 


370  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVI. 

of  their  gladness,  there  was  an  holy  libation.  This  being  a 
symbol  of  their  deliverance  from  Egyptian  thraldom,  is  for 
that  reason  here  called  the  cup  of  salvation?  The  term  to  call 
wporiy  signifies  to  celebrate  the  name  of  God ;  and  this  he  ex- 
presses more  plainly,  subsequently,  by  saying  that  he  would 
yay  Ms  vows  in  the  assembly  of  the  faithful,  the  sanctuary  alone 
being  the  place  where  sacrifices  could  be  offered.  The 
amount  is,  that  the  faithful  need  not  be  greatly  perplexed 
about  the  way  of  performing  their  duties,  God  not  demand- 
ing from  them  a  return  which  he  knows  they  are  unable  to 
give,  but  being  satisfied  with  a  bare  and  simple  acknowledg- 
ment. The  proper  return  is  to  own  our  obligation  to  him 
for  every  thing.  If  God  deal  so  kindly  and  mercifully  with 
us,  and  we  fail  in  giving  to  him  the  tribute  of  praise  for  our 
deliverance  which  he  claims,  then  our  supineness  becomes 
the  more  base.     And  certainly  they  are  unworthy  of  the  en- 

'  That  there  is  here  an  allusion  to  the  cup  of  wine  drunk  in  tiie  offering 
of  eucharistical  sacrifices  is  very  generally  admitted  by  commentators. 
During  the  feast  that  followed  "these  sacrifices,  the  master  of  tlie  family 
took  a  cup  of  Avine  into  his  hands,  and  after  solemnly  giving  thanks  to 
God  for  the  mercies  experienced,  first  drank  of  it  himself,  and  then  de- 
livered it  to  all  present  to  be  partaken  of  in  rotation.  "The  cup  here 
spoken  of  by  the  Psalmist,"  says  Cresswell,  "  was  probably  used  by  the 
master  of  a  Hebrew  family  at  an  entertainment  in  his  own  house,  at 
which  the  remainder  of  the  victims  was  eaten,  after  he  had  offei'ed  (Lev. 
vii.  11,  &c.)  the  sacrifice  of  a  peace-offering  for  a  thanksgiving;  when, 
lifting  up  the  cup  of  wine  in  his  hand,  he  called  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  giving  him  thanks.  The  modern  Jews  are  said  to  use  a  similar 
ceremony  every  year  in  commemoration  of  the  deliverance  of  their  an- 
cestors from  the  bondage  of  Egypt."  Some,  indeed,  deny  that  there  is 
any  allusion  to  such  eucharistical  sacrifices,  as  Hengstenberg,  who  ob- 
serves, that  this  communion  cup  is  a  mere  fiction.  In  the  institution  of 
the  festival  offerings,  nothing  is  indeed  said  of  the  cup ;  but  we  know 
from  Matth.  xxvi.  29,  30,  that  in  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  for  instance, 
the  drinking  of  a  cup  of  Avine  and  the  singing  of  a  hymn  were  parts  of  the 
observance.  From  Jewish  tradition  we  also  learn  that  such  was  the 
ancient  practice.  See  Lightfoot's  Hone  Hebraica^  on  Matth.  xxvi.  Our 
Lord,  ap])arently  in  imitation  of  the  Jewish  custom,  as  the  head  of  the 
family,  at  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  "  took  the  cup,  and  gave  thanks," 
(Luke  xxii.  11.)  In  allusion  to  this  custom,  Paul  calls  the  communion 
cup  in  the  Lord's  Supper  "  the  cup  of  blessing,"  (1  Cor.  x.  16.)  The 
Psalmist,  then,  here  intimates  his  intention  of  publicly  yielding  thanks 
to  God  for  the  mercies  bestowed  upon  him. 

There  was  a  libation  of  wine  enjoined  by  the  Mosaic  law  to  be  made 
in  the  temjile  everj^  momiug  and  evening  for  a  drink-offering,  (Num. 
xxviii.  7,)  to  which  some  suppose  there  is  here  a  reference,  observing,  that 
the  three  last  verses  seem  to  intimate,  that  the  Psalmist  was  now  at  the 
temple,  offering  the  meat-offering,  drink-offering,  and  sacrifices,  to  the 
Lord. 


PSALM  GXVI.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  371 

joyment,  I  say  not  of  the  riches  of  the  world,  but  of  the  light 
of  the  sun  and  the  air  by  which  we  breathe  and  live,  who 
would  rob  the  Author  of  them  of  the  small  return  which  so 
legitimately  belongs  to  him.  The  Mosaic  ritual  has  indeed 
been  abrogated,  and  along  with  it  the  external  libation  re- 
ferred to  by  David,  yet  the  spiritual  service,  as  we  found  in 
Ps.  1.  23,  "  The  sacrifice  of  praise  shall  glorify  me,"  is  still  in 
force.  Let  us,  however,  bear  in  mind,  that  God  is  lawfully 
praised  by  us,  when  we  offer  in  sacrifice  not  only  our  tongues, 
but  also  ourselves,  and  all  that  we  possess.  And  this  not  be- 
cause God  derives  any  profit  from  it,  but  because  it  is  rea- 
sonable that  our  gratitude  should  manifest  itself  in  this  way. 

14.  I  loillpay  my  vows  unto  Jehovah.  The  stedfastness 
of  his  piety  shines  forth  in  this,  that,  in  the  midst  of  his  dan- 
gers, he  had  vowed  unto  God.  And  now  he  proves  that  he 
by  no  means  forgot  these  engagements,  as  most  men  do,  who, 
when  the  hand  of  God  lies  heavy  upon  them,  implore  his 
help  for  a  short  time,  but  soon  bury  in  oblivion  the  deliver- 
ance which  they  have  received.  The  Holy  Spirit,  speaking 
of  the  true  worship  of  God,  very  properly  connects,  by  an 
indissoluble  bond,  these  two  parts  of  worship,  "  Call  upon  me 
in  the  day  of  trouble;"  and,  "  after  thy  deliverance  glorify  me," 
Ps.  1.  15.  If  any  regard  it  as  an  absurdity  for  the  faithful 
to  enter  into  covenant  with  God  by  making  vows  to  him,  to 
procure  his  appi-obation,  my  reply  is,  that  they  do  not  promise 
the  sacrifice  of  praise,  to  soothe  him  by  their  flatteries,  as  if  he 
were  a  mortal  like  themselves,  or  to  bind  him  to  them  bv 
proposing  some  reward,  for  David  had  previously  protested 
that  he  would  not  offer  any  recompense.  The  design,  then, 
and  the  use  of  vows  is,  first.  That  the  children  of  God  may  have 
their  hearts  strengthened  with  the  confidence  of  obtainino- 
whatever  they  ask;  and,  secondly.  That  they  may  bestimulated 
the  more  to  offer  up  their  tribute  of  gratitude  to  God  for  his 
mercies.  To  aid  the  children  of  God  in  their  infirmity,  the 
privilege  of  vowing  may  surely  be  conceded  to  them,  for  by 
this  means  their  most  merciful  Father  condescends  to  allow 
them  to  enter  into  familiar  converse  with  him,  provided  they 
make  their  vows  for  the  object  I  have  stated.     Happen  what 


372  COMMENT AEY  UPON  PSALM  CXVI. 

may,  nothing  must  be  attempted  without  his  permission. 
And  hence  the  Papists  appear  the  more  ridiculous,  who,  imder 
pretext  of  what  is  advanced  in  this  place,  defend  all  sorts  of 
vows,  however  foolish  and  absurd  and  rashly  made ;  as  if 
drunkenness  were  lawful,  because  God  permits  us  to  eat. 

15.  Precious  in  the  eyes  of  JeliovaJi  is  the  death  of  his  meek 

ones. 

16.  Come,  0  Jehovah!  because  lam  thy  servant;  I  am  thy  servant, 

the  son  of  thine  handmaid:  thou  hast  broken  my  fetters. 

17.  /  will  sacrifice  the  sacrifices  of  praise  to  thee,  and  call  upon 

the  name  of  Jehovah.^ 

18.  I  will  pay  my  vows  now  in  the  presence  of  all  his  people, 

19.  In  the  courts  of  the  house  of  Jehovah,  in  the  midst  of  thee,  0 

Jerusalem !     Praise  ye  Jehovah. 

15.  Precious  in  the  eyes  of  Jehovah  is  the  death  of  his  meek 
ones.  He  goes  on  now  to  the  general  doctrine  of  God's  pro- 
vidential care  for  the  godly,  in  that  he  renders  them  assistance 
in  time  of  need ;  their  lives  being  precious  in  his  sight. 
With  this  shield  he  desires  to  defend  himself  from  the  terrors 
of  death,  which  often  pressed  upon  him,  by  which  he  imagined 
he  would  instantly  be  swallowed  up.  When  we  are  in  dan- 
ger, and  God  apparently  overlooks  us,  we  then  consider  our- 
selves to  be  contemned  as  poor  slaves,  and  that  our  life  is 
regarded  as  a  thing  of  nought.  And  we  are  aware  that  when 
the  wicked  perceive  that  we  have  no  protection,  they  wax 
the  more  bold  against  us,  as  if  God  took  no  notice  either 
of  our  life  or  death.  In  opposition  to  their  erroneous  doctrine, 
David  introduces  this  sentiment,  that  God  does  not  hold  his 
servants  in  so  little  estimation  as  to  expose  them  to  death 
casually.^     We  may  indeed  for  a  time  be  subjected  to  all  the 

^  "This  seems  to  mean  the  sacrifice  prescribed.  Lev.  vii.  12,  because 
the  coiirts  of  the  Lord's  house  are  mentioned.  Ps.  1.  23,  and  Ivi.  12, 
perhaps  mean  only  thanksgiving,  as  Ps.  Ixix.  30,  certainly  doth.  See 
verse  31." — Archbishop  Sedier. 

2  "  For  their  death  to  be  precious  is,  in  effect,  no  more  than  that  it  is, 
so  considered,  rated  at  so  high  a  price  by  God,  as  that  he  will  not  easily 
gi-aut  it  to  any  one  that  most  desires  it  of  him.  Absalom  here  hostilely 
pursued  David  and  desu-ed  his  death,  he  would  have  been  highly  grati- 
fied with  it,  taking  it  for  the  gi'catest  boon  that  coidd  have  befallen  him  : 
but  God  would  not  thus  gi'atify  him  ;  nor  will  he  grant  this  desire  easily 


PSALM  CXVr.  THE  BOOK  OF  TSALMS.  373 

vicissitudes  of  fortune  and  of  the  world  ;  we  will  nevertheless 
always  have  this  consolation,  that  God  will,  eventually,  openly 
manifest  how  dear  our  souls  are  to  him.  In  these  times,  when 
innocent  blood  is  shed,  and  the  wicked  contemners  of  God 
furiously  exalt  themselves,  as  if  exulting  over  a  vanquished 
God,  let  us  hold  fast  by  this  doctrine,  that  the  death  of  the 
faithful,  which  is  so  worthless,  nay,  even  ignominious  in  the 
sight  of  men,  is  so  valuable  in  God's  sight,  that,  even  after 
their  death,  he  stretches  out  his  hand  towards  them,  and  by 
dreadful  examples  demonstrates  how  he  holds  in  abhorrence 
the  cruelty  of  those  who  unjustly  persecute  the  good  and 
simple.  If  he  put  their  tears  in  a  bottle,  how  will  he  permit 
their  blood  to  perish  ?  Ps.  Ivi.  8.  At  his  own  time  he  will 
accomplish  the  prediction  of  Isaiah,  "  that  the  earth  shall  dis- 
close her  blood,"  xxvi.  21.  To  leave  room  for  the  grace  of 
God,  let  us  put  on  the  spirit  of  meekness,  even  as  the  prophet, 
in  designating  the  faithful  meek  ones,  calls  upon  them  to  sub- 
mit their  necks  quietly  to  bear  the  burden  of  the  cross,  that 
in  their  patience  they  may  possess  their  souls,  Luke  xxi. 
19. 

1 6.  Come,  O  Jehovah  !  because  I  am  thy  servant.  As,  in 
the  former  verse,  he  gloried  that  in  him  God  had  given  an 
example  of  the  paternal  regard  which  he  has  for  the  faithful, 
so  here  he  applies,  in  an  especial  manner,  to  himself  the 
general  doctrine,  by  declaring  that  \)\s  fetters  had  been  broken, 
in  consequence  of  his  being  included  among  the  number  of 
God's  servants.  He  employs  the  ievva  fetters,  as  if  one,  with 
hands  and  feet  bound,  were  dragged  by  the  executioner.  In 
assigning,  as  the  reason  of  his  deliverance,  that  he  was  God's 
servant,  he  by  no  means  vaunts  of  his  services,  but  rather 
refers  to  God's  unconditional  election ;  for  we  cannot  make 
ourselves  his  servants,  that  being  an  honour  conferred  upon 
us  solely  by  his  adoption.  Hence  David  affirms,  that  he 
was  not  God's  servant  merely,  but  the  son  of  his  handmaid. 
"  From  the  womb  of  my  mother,  even  before  I  was  born,  was 
this  honour  conferred  upon  me."     He  therefore  presents  him- 

to  the  enemies  of  godly  men,  especially  of  those  that  commit  themselves 
to  his  keeping,  as  David  here  did." — Hammond. 


374  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVII. 

self  as  a  common  example  to  all  who  shall  dedicate  themselves 
to  the  service  of  God,  and  place  themselves  under  his  protec- 
tion, that  they  may  be  under  no  apprehension  for  their  safety 
Avhile  they  have  him  for  their  defence. 

17.  I  will  sacrifice  the  sacrifices  of  praise  to  thee.  He  once 
more  repeats  what  he  had  said  about  gratitude,  and  that 
publicly ;  for  we  must  manifest  our  piety,  not  only  by  our 
secret  affection  before  God,  but  also  by  an  open  profession 
in  the  sight  of  men.  David,  along  with  the  people,  observed 
the  rites  of  the  law,  knowing  that  these,  at  that  time,  were 
not  unmeaning  services  ;  but  while  he  did  ihis,  he  had  a  par- 
ticular reference  to  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  appointed, 
and  offered  principally  the  sacrifices  of  praise  and  the  calves 
of  his  lips.  He  speaks  of  the  courts  of  God's  house,  because 
at  that  time  there  was  but  one  altar  from  which  it  was  un- 
lawful to  depart,  and  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  the  holy 
assemblies  should  be  held  there,  that  the  faithful  might 
mutually  stimulate  one  another  to  the  cultivation  of  godli- 
ness. 


PSALM  CXVII. 

1.  Praise  Jehovah^  all  ye  nations  ;  magnify  him,  all  ye  peoples."^ 

^  "  That  all  the  nations  here,  and  iu  the  next  word  all  peoples,  signify, 
in  the  greatest  latitude,  all  the  nations,  all  people  of  the  Gentile  world, 
even  -KAaccv  xTiaiu,  '  the  whole  creation,'  and  x.6af/,ov  a.nroi.vTct.,  '  the  whole 
world,'  Mark  xvi.  15,  appears  both  bj  Matth.  xxviii.  19,  Avliere,  parallel 
to  those  phrases  in  St  Mark,  is  no  more  than  ■Trxurot,  to.  e^un,  '  all  the 
nations,'  as  here ;  but  especially  by  Rom.  xv.,  where,  for  a  proof  of  God's 
purpose  that  the  Gentiles  should  be  received  into  the  Church,  and  join 
with  the  believing  Jews  in  one  concert  of  Christian  love  and  faith,  and 
praise  God  together  in  the  same  congregation,  tiie  proof  is  brought,  as 
from  several  other  texts,  so  from  these  words  in  this  psalm.  And  this 
not  only  by  expressly  citing,  ver.  1,  '  And  again  praise  the  Lord,  all  ye 
nations,  and  laud  him,  all  ye  people  ; '  but  also  in  the  front  of  the  testi- 
monies, by  the  phrases,  '  for  the  truth  of  God,'  ver.  8,  '  for  the  mercy  or 
pity  of  God,'  ver.  9,  both  which  are  here  mentioned,  ver.  2." — Hammond. 


PSALM  CXVII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  375 

2.  Because  his  mercy  is  strengthened^  toivards  us  :  mid  the  truth 
of  Jehovah  remains  for  ever.     Praise  ye  Jehovah. 

1.  Praise  Jehovah,  all  ye  nations.  The  Holy  Spirit  having, 
by  the  mouth  of  the  prophet,  exhorted  all  nations  to  celebrate 
the  praises  of  God's  mercy  and  faithfulness,  Paul,  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  very  justly  considers  this  as  a  predic- 
tion respecting  the  calling  of  the  whole  world,  (xv.  11.)  How 
can  unbelievers  be  qualified  for  praising  God,  who,  though 
not  entirely  destitute  of  his  mercy,  yet  are  insensible  of  it, 
and  are  ignorant  of  his  truth  ?  It  would  therefore  serve  no 
purpose  for  the  prophet  to  address  the  heathen  nations,  unless 
they  were  to  be  gathered  together  in  the  unity  of  the  faith 
with  the  children  of  Abraham.  There  is  no  ground  for  the 
censorious  attempting,  by  their  sophistical  arguments,  to  re- 
fute the  reasoning  of  Paul.  I  grant  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
elsewhere  calls  upon  the  mountains,  rivers,  trees,  rain,  winds, 
and  thunder,  to  resound  the  praises  of  God,  because  all  crea- 
tion silently  proclaims  him  to  be  its  Maker.  It  is  in  a  differ- 
ent manner  that  he  is  praised  by  his  rational  creatui'es.  The 
reason  assigned  is,  that  God's  mercy  and  truth  furnish  materials 
for  celebrating  his  praises.  Besides,  the  prophet  does  not 
mean  that  God  shall  be  praised  everywhere  by  the  Gentiles, 
because  the  knowledo-e  of  his  character  is  confined  to  a  small 
portion  of  the  land  of  Judea,  but  because  it  was  to  be  spread 
over  the  whole  world.  First,  he  enjoins  God  to  be  praised, 
because  his  goodness  is  increased,  or  strengthened,  for  the 
Hebrew  term  admits  of  botli  meanings.  Secondly,  because 
his  truth  remains  stedfast  for  ever.  How,  then,  are  those 
qualified  to  celebrate  his  praises,  who,  with  brutal  insensibi- 
lity, pass  over  his  goodness,  and  shut  their  ears  against  his 
heavenly  doctrine  ? 

The  trutlt  of  God,  in  this  passage,  is  properly  introduced 
as  an  attestation  of  his  grace.  For  he  can  be  true  even  when 
he  menaces  the  whole  world  with  perdition  and  ruin.  The 
prophet,  however,  has  placed  his  mercy  first  in  order,  that 
his  faithfulness   and  truth,  comprising  an  assurance  of  hia 

'  "  Ou,  multipliee."— -F?-.  marg.     "  Or,  multiplied." 


376  COMMENTAEY  UrON  PSALM  CXVIII. 

paternal  kindness,  might  encourage  the  hearts  of  the  godly. 
His  power  and  justice  are  equally  praiseworthy ;  but  as  men 
will  never  cordially  praise  God  until  they  are  drawn  by  a 
foretaste  of  his  goodness,  the  prophet  very  justly  selects 
God's  mercy  and  truth,  which  alone  open  the  mouths  of  those 
who  are  mute  to  engage  in  this  exercise.  When  his  truth  is 
said  to  be  everlasting,  it  is  not  set  in  opposition  to  his  mercy, 
as  if  it,  after  flourishing  for  a  season,  then  instantly  passed  away. 
The  same  reason  would  go  to  prove,  that  it  was  small  compared 
with  his  mercy,  which  is  said  to  be  abundant.  The  meaning 
is,  that  God's  mercy  is  rich  towards  us,  flowing  in  a  perennial 
stream,  because  united  to  his  eternal  truth.  If  we  read,  his 
mercy  is  covjirmed,  all  difficulty  will  be  removed,  for  then  both 
constancy  and  stability  will  alike  adorn  his  mercy  and  his 
truth. 


PSALM  CXVIII. 

At  the  time  when  this  psalm  was  penned,  whenever  that  was,  David 
having  attained  to  the  possession  of  royal  power,  and  aware  that  he 
reigned  for  the  common  safety  of  the  Church,  calls  upon  all  tlie  children 
of  Abraham  to  ponder  attentively  this  gi'ace.  He  also  recounts  his 
dangers,  the  magnitude  and  variety  of  which  would  have  slain  him  a 
hundred  times,  had  not  God  wonderfully  succoured  him.  Fi-om  this  it 
is  obvious  that  he  came  to  the  throne  of  the  kingdom,  neither  by  his 
own  policy,  nor  by  the  favour  of  men,  nor  by  any  human  means.  At 
the  same  time,  he  informs  us  that  he  did  not  rashly  or  by  wicked 
intrigues  rush  forward  and  take  forcible  possession  of  the  kingdom  of 
Saul,  but  that  he  was  appointed  and  established  king  by  God  himself. 
Let  us  remember  that  it  was  the  design  of  the  Spirit,  under  the  figure 
of  this  temporal  kiugdom,  to  describe  the  eternal  and  spiritual  kingdom 
of  God's  Son,  even  as  David  represented  his  person,'^ 


^  Calvin  ascribes  this  psalm  to  David  ;  but,  as  it  is  without  any  title, 
it  is  uncertain  who  was  its  author.  On  this  point,  and  the  occasion  of 
its  composition,  various  opinions  prevail  among  commentators.  Ac- 
cording to  Hengstenberg,  it  celebrates  the  return  of  the  Jews  from  the 
Babylonish  captivity,  and  the  laying  tlie  foundation  of  the  second  temple  ; 
in  support  of  which  he  refers  to  Ezra  iii.  11.  Phillips  thinks  it  "  pro- 
bable that  it  was  written  for  the  occasion  Avhen  David  was  to  be  anointed 


PSALM  CXVIII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  377 

1.  Praise  ye  Jehovah ;  because  he  is  good  :  because  his  mercy 

endurcth  for  ever. 

2.  Let  Israel  now  ^  say,  that  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever. 

3.  Let  the  house  of  Aaron  now  say,  that  his  mercy  endureth  for 

ever. 

4.  Let  those  who  fear  Jehovah  now  say,  that  his  mercy  endureth 

for  ever. 

1.  Praise  ye  Jehovah,  In  this  passage  we  see  that  David 
does  not  merely  in  a  private  capacity  render  thanks  to  God, 
but  that  he  loudly  summons  the  people  to  engage  in  the 
common  exercises  of  piety.     This  he  does,  not  simply  from 


at  Hebron  king  over  the  tribes  of  Israel,  (2  Sara.  v.  ;)  for,  previously  to 
his  inauguration,  he  Avas  subjected  to  many  dangers,  both  from  avowed 
foes,  as  well  as  from  Saul  and  his  party.  He  was  exposed  to  the  hos- 
tility of  the  Philistines  (1  Sam.  xxix.)  and  the  Amalekites,  (1  Sam.  xxx. ;) 
fi-om  the  former  he  escaped  in  safety,  and  the  latter  he  overcame  in  battle. 
Again,  although  he  had  been  long  chosen  king  of  Israel  by  God,  for  a 
considerable  period  he  was  exposed  to  a  severe  persecution  ;  he  was 
obliged  to  flee  for  safety  from  his  country,  and  it  was  not  till  after  the 
death  of  Saul  that  his  troubles  ceased,  and  he  ascended  the  throne,  which 
had  long  been  his  by  Divine  appointment.  To  David,  therefore,  at 
Hebron,  this  psalm  will  apply  ;  tor  he  could  then  say,  '  All  nations  com- 
passed me  about.  The  Lord  hath  chastised  me,  but  he  hath  not  given 
me  over  unto  death.  The  stone  which  the  builders  refused  is  become  the 
head-stone  of  the  corner.  This  is  the  Lord's  doing  ;  it  is  marvellous  in 
our  eyes.' "  Some  assign  it  to  the  time  of  Hezekiah  ;  and  others  to  that 
pei'iod  of  Israel's  history,  which  is  adorned  by  the  illustrious  achieve- 
ments of  the  Maccabees.  "  I  shall  not  presume,"  says  Walford,  "to 
decide  which  of  these  opinions  is  the  most  agreeable  to  truth.  It  will 
be  more  to  our  pm'pose  to  observe,  that  the  psalm  was  read  on  occasion 
of  a  solemn  procession  that  was  formed  by  the  king  or  chief  magistrate, 
whoever  he  might  be,  the  priests  and  the  people  at  large,  of  all  ranks, 
in  order  to  perform  public  sacrifices  of  thanksgiving  at  the  temple." 

'  Horsley  very  properly  translates  the  Hebrew  word  X3i  "«»  in  this 
and  the  two  following  verses,  by  O,  instead  of  now ; — "  O,  Let  Israel  say — 
O,  Let  the  hoiise  of  Aaron  say — O,  Let  them  that  fear  Jehovah  say." 
"  The  word  noit\'"  he  observes,  "  in  oiu-  language  is  a  particle  of  entreaty, 
and  is  therefore  used  by  om-  translators  to  express  the  supplicatory 
particle  of  the  Hebrew  language,  j<3.  But  though  now^  in  our  language, 
is  indeed  a  particle  of  entreaty,  it  is  only  Avhen  the  verb  is  in  tlie  im- 
perative mood,  and  in  the  second  person ;  as,  '  Do,  now,  grant  me  tliis 
favour ;'  or,  at  least,  in  speaking  to  the  person  of  whom  the  thing  is 
asked.  When  ^j  is  joined  to  a  verb  in  the  third  person,  or  wlien  the 
person  who  is  to  grant  the  petition,  or  perform  the  tiling  advised,  is  not 
immediately  addressed,  it  sliould  be  rendered  by  some  other  word  or 
phrase.  '  By  all  means,'  or  '  of  all  things,'  are  equivalent  phrases,  in 
respect  of  the  sense,  but  not  sufficiently  dignified  to  suit  the  style  of 
sacred  poetry.  0  is  perhaps  the  best  particle,  in  these  cases,  that  our 
language  furnishes." 


378  COMMENTARY  UPON 


PSALM  CXVIII. 


his  having  been  divinely  appointed  to  be  the  captain  and 
teacher  of  others  ;  but,  God  having  invested  him  with  royal 
power,   had  manifested   his    sympathy  Avith   his    distressed 
Church.      Hence  he  exhorts  the  Israelites  to  magnify  the 
grace  of  God,  under  whose  kind  protection  he  appears  to  re- 
establish them  in  safety.     In  the  beginning  of  the  psalm  he 
alludes  generally  to  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  God,  but  he 
shortly  instances  himself  as  an  evidence  of  his  goodness,  as 
Avill  be  seen  in  its  proper  place.     It  becomes  us  at  present  to 
recall  to  mind  what  I  mentioned  in  the  preceding  psalm,  that 
a  reason  for  praising  God  is  given  to  us  on  account  of  his 
mercy,  in  preference  to  his  power  or  justice ;  because,  though 
his  glory  shine  forth  in  them  also,  yet  will  we  never  promptly 
and  heartily  sound  forth  his  praises,  until  he  win  us  by  the 
sweetness  of  his  goodness.     Accordingly,  in  Psalm  li.  17,  we 
found  that  the  lips  of  the  faithful  were  opened  to  praise  God, 
when  they  perceived  that  he  was  truly  their  deliverer.     In 
restricting  his  address  to  Israel,  and  to  the  children  of  Aaron, 
he  is  guided  by  a  regard  to  his  own  times,  because,  up  to 
that  period,  the  adoption  did  not  extend  beyond  that  one 
nation.     He  again  resumes  the  order  which  he  observed  in 
Psalm  cxvi. ;  for,  after  exhorting  the  children  of  Abraham, 
who  had  been  separated  from  the  Gentiles  by  the  election  of 
God,   and  also   the   sons  of  Aaron,  who,  by  virtue  of  the 
priesthood,  ought  to  take  the  precedence  in  conducting  the 
psalmody,  he  directs  his  discourse  to  the  other  worshippers 
of  God;  because   there  were  many  hypocrites  among  the 
Israelites,  who,  occupying  a  place  in  the  Church,  were  yet 
strangers  to  it.     This  is  not  inconsistent  with  David's  here 
speaking  by  the   spirit  of  prophecy,   respecting  the  future 
kingdom  of  Christ.     That  kingdom,  no  doubt,  extended  to 
the  Gentiles,  but  its   commencement  and  first-fruits  were 
among  God's  chosen  people. 

5.  /  called  upon   God  in  my  distress,  and  God  heard  me,  by 

setting  me  at  large. 

6.  Jehovah  is  v:ith  me  :  I  will  not  fear  what  man  may  do  unto 

me. 

7.  Jehovah  is  with  me  among  those  who  help  me,  and  I  shall  see 

my  desire  upon  mine  enemies. 


rSALM  CXVIII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  379 

8.  It  is  better  to  hope  in  Jehovah  than  to  confide  in  man  : 

9.  It  is  better  to  hope  in  Jehovah  than  to  confide  in  princes. 

m 

5.  /  called  upon  God  in  my  distress.  We  have  here  a  par- 
ticular application  of  the  doctrine  we  formerly  mentioned, 
to  the  person  of  David ;  with  which  also  is  conjoined  the 
rejoicing  of  the  whole  Church,  for  whose  public  welfare  God 
made  provision  by  upholding  him.  By  his  own  example  he 
establishes  the  faithful,  showing  them  that  they  ought  not  to 
faint  in  the  day  of  adversity.  He  seems  designedly  to  anti- 
cipate an  objection,  which  is  apt  to  arise  in  the  minds  of  men 
the  moment  that  the  goodness  of  God  is  proclaimed,  "  Why 
does  he  permit  his  servants  to  be  so  sore  oppressed  and 
afflicted  ?"  David  therefore  reminds  them,  notwithstanding, 
that  God's  mercy  never  fails,  for  we  have  in  prayer  a  conso- 
lation and  an  antidote  for  all  our  ills.  The  season,  too,  in 
which  he  says  that  he  made  supplication,  by  means  of  which 
he  obtained  deliverance,  was  that  of  distress,  which  teaches  Uo 
that  the  time  of  sad  adversity  is  most  proper  for  abounding  in 
prayer. 

6.  Jehovah  is  with  me  among  those  who  help  me.       Con- 
fiding solely  in  God's  help,  he  sets  at  defiance  not  a  few 
enemies  merely,  but  the  whole  world.     "  Defended  by  God's 
hand,  I  may  boldl}^  and  safely  set  at  nought  all  the  machi- 
nations of  men."     When  all  the  power  of  the  universe  is 
deemed  as  nothing,  in  comparison  of  God,  then,  indeed,  is 
due  honour  attributed  to  him.     Thus  he  tacitly  reproves  the 
unbelief  of  almost  all  men,  who  spontaneously  alarm  them- 
selves Avith  groundless  fears.     All,  indeed,  desire  peace  of 
mind  ;  but,  in  consequence  of  robbing  God  of  the  pi-aise  due 
to  his  power,  their  own  ingratitude  does  not  permit  them  to 
realise  this  blessing.     Were  they,  as  is  fitting,  to  submit  in 
all  things  to  the  good  pleasure  and  power  of  God,  they  would 
be  always  ready  boldly  to  surmount  all  those  difficulties,  the 
dread  of  which  fi-om  time  to  time  annoys  them.     But  paying 
more  regard  to  the  mischievous  attempts  of  men,  than  to  the 
help  which  God  can  give  them,  they  deserve  to  tremble  at 
the  rustling  of  the  falling  leaf.     It  is  the  wish  of  David,  by 


380  COMMENTARY  UrON  PSALM  CXVIII. 

his  own  example,  to  correct  such  perversity ;  and,  with  this 
view,  he  affirms  that,  in  the  enjoyment  of  God's  favour,  he 
would  fear  no  man,  being  fully  persuaded  that  he  could  rescue 
him  from  all  the  nefarious  plots  which  were  laid  for  him. 
Or  if  he  composed  this  psalm  after  his  deliverance,  we  see 
how  much  he  had  profited  by  the  experience  of  the  grace  of 
God.  Therefore,  as  frequently  as  God  shall  succour  us,  let 
our  confidence  in  him  for  the  future  be  increased,  and  let  us 
not  be  unmindful  of  his  goodness  and  power,  M^hich  we  expe- 
rienced in  our  extremity.  Possibly,  he  relates  the  meditations 
which  occurred  to  him  in  the  midst  of  bis  distresses;  the 
former  conjecture  appears  more  probable,  that,  after  he 
obtained  deliverance,  he  gloried,  for  the  future,  in  God's  con- 
tinued assistance.  Some  refer  the  clause,  those  who  are  helpers 
ivith  me,  to  the  small  troop  which  David  had  drawn  to  him  ; 
but  this,  in  my  opinion,  is  too  refined  ;  for  it  would  tend  little 
to  the  honour  of  God  to  class  him  among  the  six  hundred 
whom  David  commanded,  as  if  he  were  one  of  the  troop.  My 
interpretation  is  more  simple,  that  he  calls  God  his  helper. 
"  It  is  enough  for  me  that  God  is  on  my  side."  Were  he 
deprived  of  all  human  aid,  still  he  would  have  no  hesitation 
in  opposing  God  against  all  his  enemies. 

8.  It  is  better  to  trust  in  Jehovah.  He  appears  to  state  no- 
thing but  what  is  common-place,  it  being  unanimoiisly  ad- 
mitted, that  when  God  and  men  come  into  comparison,  he 
must  be  viewed  as  infinitely  exalted  above  them,  and  there- 
fore it  is  best  to  trust  in  him  for  the  aid  which  he  has  pro- 
mised to  his  own  people.  All  make  this  acknowledgment, 
and  yet  there  is  scarcely  one  among  a  hundred  who  is  fully 
persuaded  that  God  alone  can  afibrd  him  sufficient  help. 
That  man  has  attained  a  high  rank  among  the  faithful,  who, 
resting  satisfied  in  God,  never  ceases  to  entertain  a  lively 
hope,  even  when  he  finds  no  help  upon  earth.  The  compari- 
son, however,  is  improper,  inasmuch  as  we  are  not  allowed 
to  transfer  to  men  even  the  smallest  portion  of  our  confidence, 
which  must  be  placed  in  God  alone.  The  meaning  is  by  no 
means  ambiguous ;  the  Psalmist  is  ridiculing  the  illusory 
hopes  of  men  by  which  they  are  tossed  hither  and  thither ; 


PSALM  CXVIII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  381 

and  declares,  that  when  the  world  smiles  upon  them  they 
wax  proud,  and  either  forsake  God  or  despise  him.  Some 
are  of  opinion  that  David  bitterly  reproaches  his  enemies 
with  their  being  deceived  in  depending  upon  the  favour  of 
Saul.  This  appears  to  me  to  be  too  limited  a  view  of  the 
passage  ;  and  I  question  not  that  David  here  proposes  him- 
self as  an  example  to  all  the  faithful ;  in  that  he  had  reaped 
the  full  fruit  of  his  hope,  when,  depending  solely  upon  God, 
he  had  patiently  borne  the  loss  of  all  earthly  succour.  In  the 
9  th  verse,  in  which  he  substitutes  princes  for  men,  there  is 
an  extension  of  the  idea.  "  Not  only  those  who  put  their 
confidence  in  men  of  low  degree  act  foolishly,  but  also  those 
who  confide  even  in  the  greatest  potentates ;  for  the  trust 
that  is  put  in  flesh  shall  at  last  be  accursed,  but  the  enjoyment 
of  God's  favour  will  convert  even  death  itself  into  life." 

10.  All  nations  compassed  me :  hut  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  I  will 

surely  cut  them  off. 

11.  They  compassed  m.e;  yea,  they  compassed  me:  in  Jehovah's 

name  I  will  surely  cut  them  off. 

12.  They  compassed  me  as  bees:  they  are  quenched^  as  a  fire  of 

thorns:  in  Jehovah'' s  name  I  will  surely  cut  them  off'. 

^  The  verb  "isyn,  doachu^  here  nsed  has  ordinarily  the  signification  of 
to  quench.  But  in  this  text  it  is  rendei'ed  in  all  the  old  versions  in  the 
sense  of  to  burn.  "  This  makes  it  prohable,"  says  Hammond,  "  that  as 
many  other  words  in  the  Hebrew  language  are  used  in  contrary  senses, 
so  *]j;i,  which  signifies  in  other  places  passively  to  he  consumed,  or  extin- 
guished., may  signify  here  as  an  hxt/Tioanfiov,  to  flame,  or  in  an  active 
sense,  as  in  Arabic  it  is  used,  violently  to  break  in  or  set  upon,  as  in  war 
or  contention  when  men  violently  rush  one  on  another."  And  this 
seems  most  suitable  to  the  connection  in  which  it  stands.  At  first 
sight  one  would  think  it  strange  to  say  that  the  adversaries  of  David 
were  quenched  (i.  e.,  destroyed)  as  the  fire  of  thorns  ;  and  for  the 
Psalmist  afterwards  to  state.  In  the  name  of  the  Lord  I  ivill  surely 
cut  them  off.  If  the  verb  is  here  interpreted  in  the  sense  of  to  burn, 
the  main  object  of  the  metaphor  must  be  to  express,  by  a  figure  fi-e- 
quently  employed  in  Scripture,  the  impotence  and  quick  termination 
of  the  rage  of  those  men,  however  fierce  and  apparently  formidable. 
It  would  soon  expend  itself,  and  then-  power  of  doing  injury  be  lost 
like  a  fire  of  thorns,  which,  although  for  a  moment  it  makes  a  great 
crackling,  and  rages  violently  as  if  it  would  quickly  consume  every  thing 
near,  soon  ceases,  and  nothing  remains  but  the  ashes.  If  the  verb  is 
understood  in  the  sense  of  to  quench,  the  language  is  very  elliptical,  and 
in  the  true  genius  of  Hebrew  poetry,  which  frequently  couches  in  a  few 
words  such  images  as  in  the  hands  of  Homer  would  be  materials  for  oii 


382  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVIII. 

13.  Thrusting,  thou  hast  thrust  at  me,  that  1  might  fall:^  hut 

Jehovah  helped  me. 

14.  God  is  my  strength  and  song,  and  he  hath  saved  me. 

10.  All  nations  compassed  me.  In  these  verses  he  relates 
the  wonderful  deliverance  which  he  had  received,  that  all 
mio;ht  know  that  it  was  not  of  human  but  divine  orio;in. 
Once  and  again  he  declares,  that  he  was  compassed  not  by  a 
few  persons,  but  by  a  vast  multitude.  The  people,  being  all 
inflamed  with  anger  and  fury  against  hira,  compassed  him  so 
that  there  were  no  means  for  his  escape,  and  he  could  pro- 
cure help  from  no  quarter  but  from  heaven.  Some  consider 
his  complaint,  that  all  nations  were  adverse  to  him,  as  referring 
to  the  neighbouring  nations,  by  whom  we  know  l>avid  was 
surrounded  with  danger.  His  meaning,  in  my  opinion,  is, 
that  the  whole  world  was  adverse  to  him ;  because  he  places 
God's  help  alone  in  opposition  to  the  deadly  and  furious 
hatred  both  of  his  own  countrymen  and  of  the  neighbouring 
nations  towards  him,  so  that  there  was  not  a  spot  upon  the 
earth  where  he  could  be  safe.    There  was,  it  is  true,  no  army, 


enlarged  and  dignified  description,  while  it  leaves  unexpressed  more  than 
half  of  what  is  intended  to  be  understood.  The  sudden  quenching  of  the 
hostile  army,  like  the  extinction  of  a  fire  of  thorns,  implies  the  previous 
comparison  of  such  array  to  a  fire.  "  It  is  remarkable  that,  in  a  similar 
connection,  Homer  has  such  a  comparison  of  an  hostile  army  to  fire,  in 
which  he  expresses  what  David  left  to  be  understood,  and  omits  (for  he 
had  no  occasion  to  introduce)  what  David  expi-esses,  namely,  the  sudden 
quenching  of  the  fire  : — 

'  As  when  devouring  flames  some  forest  seize 
On  the  high  mountains,  splendid  fi'om  afar 
The  blaze  appears,  so,  moving  in  the  plain. 
The  steel-clad  host  innum'rous  flash'd  to  heav'n.' 

Iliad  ii.  516.     Cowper." 
— Illustrated  Commentary  upon  the  Bible. 

'  Hammond  reads,  ''  Thou  hast  thrust  sore  at  me  to  ruin  or  falling." 
"  The  full  import  of  ^sj'?,"  says  he,  "  is  best  expressed  gerundially,  ad 
cadendum,  to  falling.,  not  only  to  express  their  desire  who  thus  pressed 
and  thrust  at  him,  thai  he  might  fall,  for  that  is  supposed  in  the  violence 
of  their  impulsion,  expressed  by  repetition  of  the  verb  nm  ^Jn^m? 
thou  hast  by  thrusting  thrust  we,  but  to  signify  the  event  or  success  of  it, 
that  I  was  falling.,  or  ready  to  fall,  rov  7r£as7u,  say  the  LXX.  in  the  in- 
finitive mood  gerundially,  and  so  the  Chaldec  and  the  Syriac ;  and  so 
the  Jewish  Arab,  '  It  is  a  long  while  that  thou  hast  driven  or  thrust  me 
to  falling.*  And  this  expresses  the  gi'catness  and  seasonablcness  of  the 
deliverance,  that  when  he  was  falling,  God  helped  him." 


PSALM  CXVIII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  383 

collected  from  several  nations,  besieging  him  ;  still  he  had  no 
peaceable  retreat  except  among  the  haunts  of  wild  beasts,  from 
which  also  he  was  driven  by  terror.  And  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  persons  he  encountered  were  the  snares  laid  to 
entrap  him.  It  is,  thereforcj  not  wonderful  that  he  said  he 
was  compassed  by  all  nations.  Besides,  this  elliptical  mode 
of  speaking  is  more  forcible  than  if  he  had  merely  said  that 
he  trusted  in  God,  by  reason  of  which  he  had  become  vic- 
torious. By  publicly  mentioning  the  name  of  God  alone,  he 
maintains  that  no  other  means  of  deliverance  were  within  his 
reach,  and  that  but  for  his  interposition  he  must  have  perished. 
It  appears  to  me  preferable  to  translate  the  particle  '•^,  ki, 
affirmatively.^  "  Besieged  as  I  am  on  all  sides  by  the  world, 
yet  if  the  power  of  God  help  me,  that  will  be  more  than  ade- 
quate for  the  extermination  of  all  mine  enemies."  Their  obsti- 
nate and  implacable  hatred  is  pointed  out  by  him  in  the 
repetition  of  the  phrase  comjyassed  about,  and  their  outrageous 
fury  is  set  forth  in  comparing  them  to  bees,  which,  though 
not  possessed  of  much  strength,  are  very  fierce,  and  when  in 
their  insensate  fury  they  attack  a  person,  they  occasion  no 
little  fear.  He  shortly  adds,  they  are  quenched  as  a  fire  of 
thorns,  which  at  first  makes  a  great  crackling,  and  throws  out 
a  greater  flame  than  a  fire  of  wood,  but  soon  passes  away. 
The  amount  is,  that  David's  enemies  had  furiously  assailed 
him,  but  that  their  fury  soon  subsided.  Hence  he  again  re- 
peats, that  sustained  by  the  power  of  God,  whatever  opposi- 
tion might  rise  against  him  would  soon  pass  away. 

13.  Thou  hast  sorely  thrust  at  me.  He  either  now  changes 
the  person,  or  directs  his  discourse  to  Saul,  his  principal 
enemy.  In  the  person  of  one,  he  sets  at  defiance  all  his 
enemies  together.  In  saying  that  he  had  been  thrust  at,  he 
admits  that  he  did  not  Avithstand  the  onset  by  his  own 
bravery,  as  those  who  are  powerful  enough  to  encounter  op- 
position, sustain  the  assaults  of  their  enemies  without  flinch- 
ing. The  power  of  God  is  more  illustriously  displayed  in 
raising  him  up  even  from  ruin  itself. 

1  "  I  take  ^3  to  be  an  affirmative  adverb,  surely^  and  not  a  conjunc- 
tion."— Loicth. 


384  COMMENTAEY  UPON  PSALM  CXVIII. 

In  the  subsequent  verse  he  draws  the  conckision  that  God 
is  his  strength  and  song.  By  the  former  adjunct  he  candidly 
acknowledges  his  weakness,  and  ascribes  his  safety  exchisively 
to  God.  And  having  admitted  that  his  strength  was  in  God 
alone,  because  he  was  sustained  by  his  power,  immediately 
he  adds,  that  God  is  his  praise  or  his  song,  Avhich  must  be 
understood  passively.  "  Itf  myself  there  was  no  ground  for 
boasting,  to  God  belongs  entirely  all  the  praise  of  my  safety." 
The  last  clause  of  the  verse,  in  which  he  says  that  God  was 
his  salvation,  refers  to  the  same  subject. 

15.  The  voice  of  shouting  and  salvation  is  in  the  tabernacles  of  the 

just  :  the  right  hand  of  Jehovah  hath  done  valiantly. 

1 6.  The  right  hand  of  Jehovah  is  exalted,   the  right  hand  of  Je- 

hovah hath  done  valiantly. 

17.  I  shall  not  die,  yea,  I  shall  live,  and  speah  of  the  works  of 

God. 

18.  God  chastising  has  chastised  me  ;  but  he  did  not  deliver  me 

unto  death- 

1 9.  Open  to  me  the  gates  of  righteousness ;  and  having  entered 

into  them,  I  will  praise  God. 

20.  This  is  the  gate  of  Jehovah,  the  just  shall  enter  into  it. 

21.  I  will  praise  thee,  because  thouhast  heard  me,  and  hast  been 

my  salvation. 

15.  The  voice  of  shouting  and  salvation  is  in  the  tabernacles  of 
the  just.  He  aflfirms  that  the  kindness  which  God  had  con- 
ferred upon  him  was  so  extensive,  that  it  would  not  do  to 
render  thanks  to  him  privately.  In  the  benefits  which  he  had 
received,  God's  power  appeared  both  remarkable  and  memor- 
able, and  the  fruit  of  it  also  was  extended  to  the  whole 
Church.  Therefore,  as  David's  deliverance  was  wonderful 
and  advantageous  generally  to  all  the  godly,  he  promises  that 
he  would  make  a  public  thanksgiving ;  and  invites  them  to 
join  him  in  this  holy  exercise.  By  this  circumstance,  he 
chiefly  aims  at  magnifying  the  grace  of  God,  and  also  by  its 
effects  to  demonstrate,  that  not  merely  his  individual  pre- 
servation, but  that  of  the  whole  Church,  in  his  person,  was 
accomplished.  Intercommunion  among  believers  does,  indeed, 
bind  them  alternately  to  render  thanks  to  God  for  each  other; 


PSALM  CXVIII.  THE  BOOK  OF  TSALMS.  385 

ia  David's  case,  there  was  the  special  reason  which  I  have 
mentioned,  his  wonderful  preservation  from  many  deaths,  and 
his  having  assigned  to  him  the  sovereignty  of  God's  chosen 
people.  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  he  combines  the  voice 
of  joy  and  gladness  with  the  praise  of  God,  by  Avhich  he  shows 
that  believers  ought  to  mingle  with  their  mirth  a  sense  of  the 
grace  of  God.  To  do  valiantly,  is  tantamount  to  a  magnificent 
display  of  his  power,  so  that  there  may  be  a  bright  manifest- 
ation of  its  effulgence.  God  oftimes  secretly,  and  when  ap- 
parently feeble,  grants  deliverance  to  his  faithful  people,  that 
they  may  be  sensible  that  it  comes  from  him  ;  but  this  is  not 
so  well  known  to  others.  Here,  however,  David  asserts  that 
the  operation  of  God  was  so  plainly  developed,  no  one  could 
doubt  whence  his  safety  came.  The  other  phrase,  that  the  right 
hand  of  God  icas  exalted,  refers  to  the  same  subject,  because, 
by  working  powerfully  and  unwontedly,  God  had  exalted  his 
hand. 

17.  I  shall  not  die.  David  speaks  like  one  emerging  from 
the  sepulchre.  The  very  same  person  who  says,  I  shall  not 
die,  acknowledges  that  he  was  rescued  from  death,  to  which 
he  was  near  as  one  condemned  to  it.  For  a  series  of  years  his 
life  was  in  imminent  danger,  exposed  every  moment  to  a  thou- 
sand deaths,  and  no  sooner  was  he  delivered  from  one  than  he 
entered  into  another.  Thus  he  declares  that  he  tvould  not  die, 
because  he  regained  life,  all  hope  of  which  he  had  entirely 
abandoned.  We,  whose  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  ought  to 
meditate  upon  this  song  all  our  days.  Col.  iii.  3.  If  we  occasion- 
ally enjoy  some  relaxation,  we  are  bound  to  unite  with  David 
in  saying,  that  we  who  were  surrounded  with  death  are  risen 
to  newness  of  life.  In  the  meantime,  we  must  constantly 
persevere  through  the  midst  of  dai'kness :  as  our  safety  lies 
in  hope,  it  is  impossible  that  it  can  be  very  visible  to  us.  In 
the  second  member  of  the  verse,  he  points  out  the  proper  use 
of  life.  God  does  not  prolong  the  lives  of  his  people,  that 
they  may  pamper  themselves  with  meat  and  drink,  sleep  as 
much  as  they  please,  and  enjoy  every  temporal  blessing,  but 
to  magnify  him  for  his  benefits  which  he  is  daily  heaping  upon 
them.  Of  this  subject  we  have  spoken  on  Psalm  ex  v. 
VOL.  IV.  2  b 


386  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVIII. 

18.  In  chastising  God  has  chastised  me.  In  these  words 
David  owns  that  his  enemies  assailed  him  unjustly,  that  they 
were  employed  by  God  to  correct  him,  that  this  was  fatherly 
chastisement,  God  not  inflicting  a  deadly  wound,  but  cor- 
recting him  in  measure  and  in  mercy.  He  seems  to  anticipate 
the  perverse  decisions  of  perverse  men  which  grievously 
pressed  upon  him,  as  if  all  the  ills  which  he  had  endiured  were 
so  many  evidences  of  his  being  cast  off  by  God.  These 
calumnies  which  the  reprobate  cast  upon  him  he  applies  very 
differently,  by  declaring  that  his  correction  was  mild  and 
paternal.  The  main  thing  in  adversity  is  to  know  that  we  are 
laid  low  by  the  hand  of  God,  and  that  this  is  the  way  which 
he  takes  to  prove  our  allegiance,  to  arouse  us  from  our  tor- 
pidity, to  crucify  our  old  man,  to  purge  us  from  our  filthiness, 
to  bring  us  into  submission  and  subjection  to  God,  and  to 
excite  us  to  meditate  on  the  heavenly  life. 

If  these  things  were  recollected  by  us,  there  is  not  one  of 
us  who  would  not  shudder  at  the  thought  of  fretting  against 
God,  but  would  much  rather  yield  submission  to  him  with  a 
mild  and  meek  spirit.  Our  champing  the  bit,  and  rushing 
forward  impatiently,  certainly  proceeds  from  the  majority  of 
men  not  looking  upon  their  afflictions  as  God's  rods,  and 
from  others  not  participating  in  his  paternal  care.  The  last 
clause  of  the  verse,  therefore,  merits  particular  attention,  That 
God  always  deals  mercifully  with  his  own  people,  so  that  his 
correction  proves  their  cure.  Not  that  his  paternal  regard  is 
always  visible,  but  that  in  the  end  it  will  be  shown  that  his 
chastisements,  so  far  from  being  deadly,  serve  the  purpose  of 
a  medicine,  which,  though  it  produce  a  temporary  debility, 
rids  us  of  our  malady,  and  renders  us  healthy  and  vigorous. 

19.  Open  unto  me  the  gates  of  righteousness}  Under  the 
influence  of  ardent  zeal,  David  here  sets  himself  to  testify 
his  gratitude,  commanding  the  temple  to  be  opened  to  him, 
as  if  the  oblations  were  all  already  prepared.  He  now  con- 
firms what  he  said  formerly.  That  he  would  render  thanks  to 

^  The  gates  of  the  temple,  or  doors  of  the  tabernacle,  are  supposed  to 
have  been  called  the  gates  of  rigJiteousness,  because  they  were  intended 
for  the  reception  of  those  only  who  were  righteous. 


PSALM  CXVIir.  THE  BOOK  OP  PSALBJS.  387 

God  publicly  in  the  properly  constituted  assembly  of  the 
faithful.     It  was  the  practice  of  the  priests  to  open  the  doors 
of  the  temple  to  the  people ;  it  appears,  however,  that  David 
here  alludes  to  his  long  exile,  which  supposition  is  corro- 
borated by  the  following  verse.     Having   been  for  a  long 
period  prevented  from  having  access  to  the  sanctuary,  and 
even  from  coming  within  sight  of  it,  he  now  rejoices  and 
exults  at  being  again  admitted  to  oiFer  sacrifice  unto  God. 
And  he  declares  that  he  will  not  appi'oach  as  the  hypocrites 
were  wont   to  do,  whom  God,   by  the  prophet  Isaiah,  re- 
proaches with  treading  his  courts  in  vain,  but  that  he  will 
come  with  the   sacrifice  of  praise,  (Isa.  i.  12.)     Fully  per- 
suaded that  he  drew  near  in  the  spirit  of  genuine  devotion, 
he  says  it  is  proper  that  the  doors  of  the  temple,  which  lately 
he  durst  not  enter,  should  be  opened  to  him  and  such  as  he. 
It  is,    says  he,  the  gate  of  Jehovah,  and,  therefore,  he   will 
open  it  for  the  just.     The  meaning  is,  that  banished  as  David 
had  been  from  the  temple  and  from  his  country,  now  that 
the  kingdom  is  in  a  better  condition,   both  he  and  all  the 
true  worshippers  of  God  regained  their  right  to  approach 
his  sanctuary.     Thus  he  indirectly  mourns  over  the  profana- 
tion of  the  temple,  in  that,  while  under  the  tyranny  of  Saul, 
it  was  occupied  by  the  profane  contemners  of  God,  as  if  it 
had  been  a  kennel  for  dogs  and  other  unclean  animals.     This 
abomination,  the  temple  being  for  a  long  time  a  den  of  thieves, 
is  here  inveighed  against ;  but  now  that  it  is  patent  to  the 
righteous,   he  declares  it  to  be  God's  holy   house.      What 
occui'red  in  the  days  of  Saul  is  visible  in  these  days,  God's 
bitter  enemies  most  wickedly  and  shamefully  occupying  his 
sanctuary.      The  Pope  would  not  be  Antichrist  if  he  did 
not  sit  in  the  temple  of  God,  (2  Thess.  ii.  4.)     Having,  by  his 
vile  pollutions,  converted  all  temples  into  brothels,  let  us  en- 
deavour as  much  as  we  can  to  purge  them,  and  prepare  them 
for  the  pure  worship  of  God.     And  as  it  has  pleased  Him  to 
choose  his  holy  habitation  among  us,  let  us  exert  ourselves 
to  remove  all  the  defilements  and  abominations  which  disfi- 
gure the  purity  of  the  Church.     David  then  relates  briefly 
the  reason   of  his  offering  the  sacrifice  of  praise  to   God, 
namely,  that  he  had  been  preserved  by  his  grace. 


388  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVIII. 

22.  The  stone  which  the  huilders  rejected  is  become  the  head  of 

the  corner.^ 

23.  This  was  done  hy  Jehovah  ;  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes. 

24.  This  is  the  day  which  Jehovah  made  ;  let  us  rejoice  and   he 

glad  in  it. 
'  25.  /  beseech  thee,  0  Jehovah  !  save  rae  ;  I  beseech  thee,  I  beseech 
thee,  0  Jehovah  !  give  prosperity,  I  beseech  thee. 
26.  Blessed  is  he  xoho  cometh  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  :  we  bless 
you  out  of  the  house  of  Jehovah. 

22.  The  stone  ivhich  the  huilders  rejected.  In  these  words 
David  boldly  pours  contempt  on  the  calumnies  with  which 
he  was  unjustly  and  imdeservedly  assailed.  As  there  was 
something  ominous  in  his  being  condemned  by  the  entire 
assemblage  of  the  nobles,  and  all  those  who  were  invested 
with  authority,  and  as  the  opinion  was  prevalent,  that  he  was 
a  wicked  and  rejected  man  ;  this  error  he  deliberately  refutes, 

^  The  learned  Michaelis  nnderstaiids  this  literallj^  "It  appears," 
says  he,  "  that,  probably  at  the  building  of  Solomon's  temple,  one  of 
those  stones,  which  David  had  taken  care  to  get  provided  and  made 
ready  for  use,  was  fonnd  fault  with  by  the  builders,  and  declared  to  be 
useless,  and  that  God,  for  altogether  different  reasons,  commanded  by  a 
pi'ophet  that  this  stone  should  be  made  the  corner-stone.  The  Orientals 
regard  the  corner-stone  as  the  one  peculiarly  holy  stone  in  a  temple,  and 
that  it  confers  sanctity  upon  the  whole  edifice.  It  is,  therefore,  the  more 
probable  that,  either  by  the  Urim  and  Thummim,  (the  sacred  lot  of  the 
Jews,)  or  by  a  prophet,  God  was  consulted  which  stone  he  would  direct 
to  be  taken  for  the  corner-stone.  The  answer  was,  that  whiqh  they 
have  perseveringly  rejected,  and  declared  to  be  quite  unserviceable.  Cer- 
tainly it  must  have  been  for  a  very  important  reason,  that  God  positive- 
ly appointed  this  stone  to  be  the  corner-stone.  But  the  New  Testament 
declares  it  to  usinMatth.  xxi.  42  ;  Acts  iv.  11 ;  and  1  Peter  ii.  7.  The 
Jewish  nation  would  conduct  themselves  towards  the  IMessiah  pre- 
cisely as  the  builders  did  towards  this  stone,  and  would  reject  him ;  but 
God  would  select  him  to  be  the  corner-stone,  which  should  support  and 
sanctify  the  whole  Church." — Quoted  in  Dr  Pye  Smith  on  the  Priesthood 
of  Christ.,  p.  150.  Michaelis'  opinion,  that  the  words  literally  relate 
to  a  stone  which  the  builders  at  first  rejected,  but  which  they  were  sub- 
sequently induced  to  place  in  the  most  important  part  of  the  building,  is, 
however,  mere  conjecture.  The  prophetic  sense  in  which  this  verse  is 
applicable  to  the  Messiah,  who  was  rejected  by  the  chief  priests,  elders, 
and  Pharisees  of  his  time,  and  who  is  now  the  foundation  of  an  ample 
and  constantly  increasing  Church,  rests  on  more  solid  grounds ;  being 
sanctioned  both  by  Christ  himself  and  his  apostles. 

The  head  stone  of  the  corner  does  not  mean  the  top  stone,  but  the 
chief  stone  of  the  foundation,  answering  to  what  we  call  the  first  stone. 
—See  Eph.  ii.  20,  21 ;  1  Peter  ii.  4,  5. 


PSALM  CXVIir.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  389 

and  vindicates  his  innocence  in  the  face  of  the  principal  men 
among  them.  "  It  is  of  little  importance  to  me  that  I  am 
abandoned  by  the  chief  men,  seeing  I  have  been  visibly 
chosen  by  the  judgment  of  God  to  be  king  over  Israel."  The 
similitude  which  he  employs  is  appropriate,  comparing  him- 
self to  a  stone,  and  the  principal  rulers  of  the  Church  to  mas- 
ter-builders. It  might,  indeed,  appear  most  irrational  on  his 
part  to  assert  that  the  heads  of  the  realm,  to  whom  the 
government  of  the  Church  was  intrusted,  should  be  deprived 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  divested  of  a  sound  judgment. 
Hence,  in  opposition  to  their  perverse  and  erroneous  judg- 
ment, he  places  the  grace  of  God,  declaring  that  he  was 
placed  by  the  purpose  and  power  of  God  to  sustain  the  whole 
building.  In  a  word,  he  shows  that  splendid  titles  and  high 
rank,  in  which  his  enemies  glory,  are  no  obstruction  to  him, 
because,  relying  upon  the  call  of  God,  he  possesses  a  glory 
superior  to  the  verdict  of  the  whole  world.  It  being  a  diffi- 
cult matter  to  persuade  them  of  the  truth  of  this,  he  magnifies 
and  enlarges  upon  the  grace  of  God,  in  order  that  its  autho- 
rity might  suppress  all  evil  speaking  and  clamorous  sur- 
mises. 

This,  says  he,  is  the  doing  of  Jehovah,  "Go  and  quarrel 
with  God,  all  ye  that  strenuously  endeavour  to  eject  me  from 
my  throne,  to  which  I  have  not  been  elevated  accidentally, 
or  by  human  policy,  but  by  the  manifest  power  of  God." 
This  he  confirms  by  all  being  constrained  to  wonder  at  what 
had  occurred  as  a  thing  incredible.  Now,  when  God  doeth 
marvellously,  and  in  a  manner  that  surpasses  our  compre- 
hension, his  power  cannot  fail  to  be  so  much  the  more  appar- 
ent unto  us.  Should  any  prefer  to  interpret  it  thus : — 
Although  this  work  may  fill  men  with  astonishment,  yet  that 
is  no  reason  for  rejecting  it ;  he  may  do  so.  To  me,  how- 
ever, it  certainly  appears  more  probable  that  David  employs 
the  term  wonderful,  that  the  haughtiness  of  man  may  submit 
to  God,  and  that  none  may  presume  to  breathe  a  whisper 
against  him.  The  fitness  of  these  things  being  applied  to 
Christ  will  be  more  properly  discussed  when  I  come  to  con- 
sider the  twenty-fifth  verse. 


390  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVIII. 

24.  This  is  the  day  which  Jehovah  made.  He  now  speaks  of 
that  as  a  happy  and  pleasant  day,  on  which  he  was  at  last 
established  king  over  Israel,  and  the  anointing  of  him  by 
Samuel  ratified  by  this  event.  Doubtless  all  days  were 
created  alike  by  God,  nevertheless  David,  by  way  of  emi- 
nence, calls  that  the  day  of  God  which,  after  a  long  period 
of  darkness,  had  dawned  for  the  weal  of  the  Church,  because 
it  was  signalised  by  a  notable  event,  deserving  of  being 
remembered  by  succeeding  generations ;  and  because  the 
Church  had  thus  emerged  from  a  state  of  deep  obscurity,  he 
exhorts  the  faithful  to  mirth  and  joy,  and  that,  too,  by  rea- 
son of  the  ignorance  which  many  still  displayed  of  the  grace 
of  God,  or  of  their  treating  it  with  contempt,  and  of  others 
being  so  fettered  by  their  perverse  attachment  to  Saul,  that 
they  could  scarcely  be  brought  to  yield  allegiance  to  David. 

25.  /  beseech  thee,  O  Jehovah  !  save  me.  As  the  term  {^J,  na, 
in  Hebrew  is  frequently  used  as  an  adverb  of  time,  not  a  few 
render  it,  in  this  place,  noiv :  Save,  I  beseech  thee,  now. 
It  is  also  often  used  in  the  form  of  asking,  and  this  is  the 
meaning  I  attach  to  it,  and  which  accords  very  well  with 
this  passage ;  for  I  am  persuaded  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  in 
repeating  the  same  phrase,  designed,  by  the  mouth  of  the 
prophet,  to  stir  up  and  stimulate  the  faithful  to  great  earnest- 
ness and  ardour  in  prayer.  If  any  prefer  a  different  inter- 
pretation, it  will  not  be  difficult  to  prevail  on  me  to  agree  to 
it.  One  thing  is  plain,  that  there  is  here  a  form  of  prayer 
prescribed  to  the  chosen  people,  to  seek  for  prosperity  to  the 
kingdom  of  David,  uj^on  which  the  common  safety  of  all 
depended.  In  these  words,  too,  he  protested  that  he  held 
his  kingdom  by  Divine  legation,  and,  therefore,  they  who 
Avould  not  agree  to  wish  prosperity  to  his  reign  were 
unworthy  of  occupying  a  place  in  the  Church. 

In  the  verse  following,  a  particular  request  is  subjoined, 
which  the  faithful  must  entertain ;  namely,  that  as  God  had 
thus  appointed  David  to  be  the  minister  of  his  grace,  so  he 
would  also  bless  him.  Those  are  said  to  come  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  Avhom  God  employs  for  the  welfare  of  his  Church — 
such  a3  prophets  and  teachers,  whom  he  raises  up  to  gather 


rSALM  CXVIII.  THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  391 

together  his  Church ;  and  generals  and  governors,  -whom  he 
instructs  by  his  Spirit.  But  as  David  was  a  type  of  Christ, 
his  case  was  peculiar ;  it  being  the  will  of  God  that  his  people 
should  dwell  under  him  and  his  successors  till  the  advent  of 
Christ.  The  clause,  blessed  is  he  that  cometh,  may  be  viewed 
as  a  form  of  congratulation ;  but  seeing  that  the  benediction 
of  the  priests  is  immediately  annexed,  I  am  disposed  rather 
to  believe  that  the  people  wished  for  David  God's  grace  and 
favour.  To  induce  them  to  present  this  petition  with  more 
alacrity,  and  thus  be  encouraged  to  receive  the  king  whom 
God  appointed  them,  this  promise  is  added  in  the  person  of 
the  priests,  We  bless  you  out  of  the  house  of  the  Lord. 

They  speak  in  this  manner  agreeably  with  the  nature  of 
their  office,  Avhich  enjoined  on  them  the  duty  of  blessing  the 
people,  as  appears  from  several  passages  in  the  books  of 
Moses,  and  particularly  from  Numbers  vi.  23.  It  is  not 
without  reason  that  they  connect  the  welfare  of  the  Church 
with  the  prosperity  of  the  kingdom,  it  being  their  desire  to 
throw  out  the  suggestion,  and  to  represent  that  the  safety  of 
the  people  would  remain  as  long  as  that  kingdom  continued 
to  flourish,  and  that  they  would  all  share  in  the  blessings 
which  would  be  conferred  upon  their  king,  because  of  the 
indissoluble  connection  which  exists  between  the  head  and 
members.  Knowing,  as  we  now  do,  that  when  David  was 
constituted  king,  the  foundation  of  that  everlasting  king- 
dom, which  was  eventually  manifested  in  the  advent  of 
Christ,  was  then  laid,  and  that  the  temporal  throne  upon 
which  the  descendants  of  David  were  placed  was  a  type  of 
the  eternal  kingdom  given  to  Christ  by  God  his  Father,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  obtained  all  power,  both  in  heaven 
and  on  earth,  there  can  be  no  question  that  the  prophet  calls 
upon  the  faithful  to  pray  fervently  and  constantly  for  the 
prosperity  and  progress  of  this  spiritual  kingdom ;  for  it  was 
incumbent  on  those  who  lived  during  the  shadowy  dispensa- 
tion to  pray  for  David  and  his  successors ;  but  after  all  the 
grandeur  of  that  kingdom  was  overthrown,  it  behoved  them 
to  entreat  the  more  ardently  that  God,  in  fulfilment  of  his 
promise,  would  re-establish  it.  In  short,  all  that  is  here 
stated  properly  relates  to  the  person  of  Christ;   and  that 


392  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVIII. 

which  was  dimly  adumbrated  In  David  was  brightly  repre- 
sented and  fulfilled  in  Christ.  The  election  of  David  was 
secret ;  and  after  he  was  anointed  by  Samuel  to  be  king,  he 
was  rejected  by  Saul,  and  by  all  the  heads  of  the  people,  and 
all  abhorred  him  as  if  he  had  been  a  person  deserving  of  a 
hundred  deaths.  Thus  disfigured  and  dishonoured,  he  did 
not  appear  to  be  a  fit  stone  for  occupying  a  place  in  the 
building.  Similar  to  this  was  the  beginning  of  the  kingdom 
of  Christ,  who,  being  sent  by  his  Father  for  the  redemption 
of  the  Church,  not  only  was  despised  by  the  world,  but  also 
hated  and  execrated,  both  by  the  common  people  and  the 
dignitaries  of  the  Church. 

But  it  may  be  asked,  how  the  prophet  designates  those 
master-builders  who,  so  far  from  wishing  the  protection  of 
the  Church,  aim  at  nothing  so  much  as  the  demolition  of  the 
entire  structure  ?  We  know,  for  instance,  with  what  vehe- 
mence the  scribes  and  priests,  in  Christ's  time,  laboured  to 
subvert  all  true  piety.  The  reply  is  not  diflficult.  David 
refers  solely  to  the  oflSce  which  they  held,  and  not  to  the 
inclinations  by  which  they  were  actuated.  Saul  and  all  his 
counsellors  were  subverters  of  the  Church,  and  yet,  in  rela- 
tion to  their  office,  they  were  chief-builders.  To  the  ungodly 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  wont  to  concede  the  honourable  titles 
which  belong  to  their  office,  until  that  God  remove  them  from 
it.  How  abandoned,  oftentimes,  were  the  priests  among  the 
ancient  people  of  God,  and  yet  they  retained  the  dignity 
and  honour  which  belonged  to  their  office,  until  they  were 
denuded  of  it.  Hence  the  words  of  Isaiah,  (xlii.  19,)  "Who 
is  blind,  but  my  servant ;  and  who  is  foolish,  but  he  whom  I 
have  sent?"  Now,  though  their  intention  was  to  undermine 
the  whole  constitution  of  the  Church,  yet,  as  they  were 
divinely  called  for  a  diflTerent  object,  he  calls  them  the  ser- 
vants and  the  sent  of  God.  In  our  day,  also,  the  Pope  and 
his  filthy  clergy,  who  usurp  the  title  of  the  priesthood,  never- 
theless continue  the  professed  enemies  of  Christ ;  from  which 
it  follows,  that  they  are  any  thing  rather  than  God's  legiti- 
mate servants,  and  occupying  the  position  of  pastors :  while 
they  scatter  the  flock,  their  condemnation  will  be  the  greater. 
Between  them  and  the  Levitical'  priests  there  is  assuredly  a 


PSALM  CXVIII.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  393 

wide  difference.  As,  however,  they  are  invested  with  the 
usual  authority,  there  can  be  no  harm  in  conceding  the  title 
to  them,  provided  they  do  not  use  it  as  a  cloak  to  conceal 
their  vile  tyranny  ;  for  if  the  mere  title  was  sufficient  to 
procure  for  them  personal  reverence,  then  Christ  must,  of 
necessity,  have  been  silenced,  seeing  that  the  priests  rejected 
his  doctrine.  This  passage  rather  informs  us,  that  those  who 
are  intrusted  with  the  office  of  ruling  the  Church,  some- 
times prove  the  worst  workmen.  David,  speaking  by  the 
Spirit,  denominates  chief-builders  those  who  attempted  to 
destroy  the  Son  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  mankind,  and 
by  whom  the  worship  of  God  was  adulterated,  religion  wholly 
corrupted,  and  the  temple  of  God  profaned.  If,  therefore, 
all  who  are  clothed  with  the  ordinary  authority  must  be  list- 
ened to,  without  exception,  as  legally  appointed  pastors,  then 
must  Christ  not  speak,  because  it  very  frequently  occurs, 
that  his  bitterest  enemies  are  concealed  under  the  garb  of 
pastors. 

Here  we  behold  with  how  strong  and  impregnable  a  shield 
the  Holy  Ghost  furnishes  us  against  the  empty  vauntings  of 
the  Papal  clergy.  Be  it  so,  that  they  possess  the  name, 
"  chief-build^s ;"  but  if  they  disown  Christ,  does  it  necessarily 
follow  that  we  must  disown  him  also  ?  Let  us  rather  con- 
temn and  trample  under  our  feet  all  their  decrees,  and  let  us 
reverence  this  precious  stone  upon  which  our  salvation 
rests.  By  the  expression,  is  become  the  head  of  the  corner,  we 
are  to  understand  the  real  foundation  of  the  Church,  which 
sustains  the  whole  weight  af  the  edifice ;  it  being  requisite 
that  the  corners  should  form  the  main  strength  of  buildings. 
I  do  not  approve  of  the  ingenious  opinion  of  Augustine,  who 
makes  Christ  the  corner-stone,  because  he  united  both  Jews 
and  Gentiles,  thus  making  the  corner  the  middle  stone 
between  the  two  different  walls. 

David  then  proceeds  to  repeat,  at  some  length,  as  I  have 
observed,  that  it  is  erroneous  to  estimate  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  by  the  sentiments  and  opinions  of  men,  because,  in 
spite  of  the  opposition  of  the  world,  it  is  erected  in  an  aston- 
ishing manner  by  the  invisible  power  of  God.  In  the  mean- 
time, we  ought  to  remember,  that  all  that  was  accomplished 


394  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVIII. 

in  the  person  of  Christ  extends  to  the  gradual  development 
of  his  kingdom,  even  until  the  end  of  the  world.  When 
Christ  dwelt  on  the  earth,  he  was  despised  by  the  chief 
priests ;  and  now,  those  who  call  themselves  the  successors  of 
Peter  and  Paul,  but  who  are  truly  Ananiases  and  Caiaphases, 
giant-like  wage  war  against  the  Gospel  and  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Not  that  this  furious  rebellion  ought  to  give  us  any  uneasi- 
ness :  let  us  rather  humbly  adore  that  wonderful  power  of 
God  which  reverses  the  perverse  decisions  of  the  world.  If 
our  limited  understandings  could  comprehend  the  course 
which  God  follows  for  the  protection  and  preservation  of  his 
Church,  there  would  be  no  mention  made  of  a  miracle. 
From  this  we  conclude,  that  his  mode  of  working  is  incom- 
prehensible, baffling  the  understandings  of  men. 

Was  it  necessary,  it  may  be  asked,  that  Christ  should  be 
reproached  by  the  master-builders  ?  It  would  certainly  indi- 
cate a  sad  state  of  the  Church,  if  she  never  had  any  pastors 
except  those  who  were  deadly  enemies  to  her  welfare.  When 
Paul  styles  himself  "  a  master-builder,"  he  informs  us  that  this 
office  was  common  to  all  the  apostles,  (1  Cor.  iii.  10.)  My 
answer  therefore  is,  that  all  who  bear  rule  in  the  Church  are 
not  charged  with  perpetual  blindness ;  but  tBSt  the  Holy 
Spirit  meets  with  this  stumblingblock,  which,  in  other  re- 
spects, is  wont  to  prove  a  hinderance  to  many  when  they 
witness  the  name  of  Christ  enveloped  with  worldly  splendour. 
When  God,  for  the  purpose  of  making  his  glory  shine  forth 
more  brightly,  looseth  Satan's  rein,  so  that  those  who  are 
invested  with  power  and  authority  reject  Christ,  then  it  is 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  bids  us  be  of  good  courage,  and  setting 
at  nought  all  these  perverse  decisions,  receive  with  all  respect 
the  King  whom  God  has  placed  over  us.  From  the  first,  we 
know  that  the  master-builders  have  endeavoured  to  subvert 
the  kingdom  of  Christ.  The  same  thing  is  taking  place  in 
our  times,  in  those  who  are  intrusted  with  the  superintend- 
ence of  the  Church  having  made  every  attempt  to  overturn 
that  kingdom,  by  directing  against  it  all  the  machinery  which 
they  can  devise.  But  if  we  call  to  mind  this  prophecy,  our 
faith  will  not  fail,  but  will  be  more  and  more  confirmed; 
because,  from  these  things  it  will  the  better  appear  that  the 


PSALM  CXVIII.  THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  395 

kingdom  of  Christ  does  not  depend  upon  the  favour  of  men, 
and  that  it  does  not  derive  its  strength  from  earthly  supports, 
even  as  he  has  not  attained  it  by  the  suffrages  of  men.  If, 
however,  the  master-builders  build  well,  the  perverseness  of 
those  who  will  not  permit  themselves  to  be  appropriated  to 
the  sacred  edifice  will  be  so  much  the  less  excusable.  More- 
over, as  often  as  we  shall,  by  this  species  of  temptation,  be 
put  to  the  trial,  let  us  not  forget  that  it  is  unreasonable  to 
expect  that  the  Church  must  be  governed  according  to  our 
understanding  of  matters,  but  that  we  are  ignorant  of  the 
government  of  it,  inasmuch  as  that  which  is  miraculous  sur- 
passes our  comprehension. 

The  next  clause,  this  is  the  day  that  God  hath  made,  reminds 
us  that  there  will  be  nothing  but  the  reign  of  moral  darkness, 
until  Christ  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  illumine  us  by  his  gos- 
pel. We  are  also  reminded  that  this  work  is  to  be  ascribed 
to  God,  and  that  mankind  must  not  arrogate  to  themselves 
any  merit  on  account  of  their  own  endeavours.  The  call  to 
the  exercise  of  gratitude,  which  immediately  follows,  is  in- 
tended to  warn  us  against  yielding  to  the  madness  of  our 
enemies,  however  furiously  they  rage  against  us,  in  order  to 
deprive  us  of  the  joy  which  Christ  has  brought  to  us.  From 
him  all  our  happiness  is  derived,  and,  consequently,  there  is 
no  cause  for  surprise  that  all  the  ungodly  fume  with  vexation, 
and  feel  indignant,  that  we  should  be  elevated  to  such  a  pitch 
of  joy  as  to  suppress  all  the  sorrows  and  soothe  all  the  asperity 
of  the  trials  we  have  to  endure.  Prior  to  the  advent  of  Christ, 
the  prayer  that  follows  was  familiar  to  the  people,  and  even 
to  the  children,  for  the  Evangelists  declare  that  Christ  was 
received  with  this  form  of  salutation.  And  certainly  it  was 
the  will  of  God  to  ratify,  at  that  time,  the  prediction  which 
he  had  spoken  by  the  mouth  of  David  ;  or  rather  that  ex- 
clamation clearly  demonstrates  that  the  interpretation,  against 
which  the  Jews  now  raise  a  clamour,  was  unanimously  ad- 
mitted ;  and  this  renders  their  obstinacy  and  malice  the  more 
inexcusable.  I  blame  them  not  for  their  stupidity,  seeing 
that  they  purposely  spread  around  them  the  mists  of  ignorance 
to  blind  themselves  and  others.  And  as  the  Jews  never 
ceased  to  put  up  this  prayer  during  that  sad  desolation,  and 


396  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXVIII. 

those  hideoas  devastations,  their  perseverance  ought  to  inspire 
us  with  new  vigour  in  these  days.  At  that  time  they  had 
not  the  honour  of  a  kingdom,  no  royal  throne,  no  name  but 
with  God  ;  and  yet  amid  this  deplorable  and  ruinous  state  of 
things,  they  adhered  to  the  form  of  prayer  formerly  prescribed 
to  them  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Instructed  by  their  example, 
let  us  not  fail  to  pray  ardently  for  the  restoration  of  the 
Church,  which,  in  our  day,  is  involved  in  sad  desolation.  Be- 
sides, in  these  words,  we  are  also  informed  that  Christ's 
kingdom  is  not  upheld  and  advanced  by  the  j^olicy  of  men, 
but  that  this  is  the  work  of  God  alone,  for  in  his  blessing 
solely  the  faithful  are  taught  to  confide.  Moreover,  the  very 
repetition  of  the  words  which,  as  we  have  observed,  renders 
them  more  forcible,  ought  to  arouse  us  from  our  lethargy,  and 
render  us  more  intensely  ardent  in  breathing  forth  this  prayer. 
God  can,  indeed,  of  himself,  and  independently  of  the  prayer 
of  any  one,  erect  and  protect  the  kingdom  of  his  Son  ;  but 
it  is  not  without  good  cause  that  he  has  laid  this  obligation  on 
us,  as  there  is  no  duty  more  becoming  the  faithful  than  that 
of  earnestly  seeking  for  the  advancement  of  his  glory. 

27.  Jehovah  is   God,   and  has  given   light  to  us:  bind  ye  the 
lamb  with  cords,  even  to  the  horns  of  the  altar^ 

28.  Thou  art  my  God,  and  I  will  praise  thee:  my  God,  I  will 

exalt  thee. 

29.  Praise  ye  Jehovah;  because  he  is  good:  because  his  mercy 

endureth  for  ever. 

27.  Jehovah  is  God.  Here  the  prophet  establishes  what 
he  said  formerly,  that  God,  out  of  compassion  to  his  Church, 
dissipated  the  darkness,  and  introduced  the  light  of  his  grace, 
when  David  mounted  the  throne,  for  that  was  the  harbinger 


1  "  Yea  even  unto  the  horns  of  the  altar — before  these  words  mitst  be 
understood  lead  it :  for  the  victims  were  bound  to  rings  fixed  in  the  floor. 
The  horns  were  architectural  ornaments,  a  liind  of  capitals,  made  of  iron 
or  of  brass,  somewhat  in  the  form  of  the  carved  horns  of  an  animal,  pro- 
jecting from  the  four  angles  of  the  altar.  The  officiating  priest,  when  he 
prayed,  placed  his  hands  on  them,  and  sometimes  sprinkled  them  with 
the  blood  of  the  sacrifice  :  comp.  Exod.  xxx.  3  ;  Lev.  iv.  7,  18.  At  the 
end  of  this  verse,  the  yyov^  saying  must  be  supplied." — Cresswell, 


PSALM  CXVIII,  THE  BOOK  OF  PSAL3IS.  397 

of  the  redemption  which  was  anticipated  to  be  effected  in  due 
time  by  Christ.     He  also  asserts  that  God  was  the  author  of 
that  deliverance,  so  wonderful  and unlooked  for,  and  he  declares 
that,  by  the  result,  he  plainly  showed  himself  to  be  truly  God. 
These  words,  Jehovah  himself  is  a  strong  God,  because  he  has 
restored  the  light  of  life  to  us,  are  tacitly  emphatical.      For  as 
the  faithful,  in  consequence  of  the  confused  state  of  the 
Church,  were  reduced  almost  to  the  brink  of  despair ;    the 
ungodly  imagined  that  all  this  had  happened  regarding  the 
children  of  Abraham,  by  reason  of  God  himself  having,  as  it 
were,  forsaken  them.     Wherefore  he  returns  to  offer  up  anew 
his  thankfiU  acknowledgments  for  the  divine  grace.      He 
commands  the  faithful  to  bind  the  victim  to  the  horns  of  the 
altar,  because,  according  to  the  legal  institute,  they  could 
not    render    solemn   thanks    unto    God   without   sacrifices. 
As  David  was  a  strict  observer  of  the  Law,  he  vv^ould  not 
omit  the  ceremonial  observances  which  God  had  enjoined. 
He  would,  however,  always  keep  his  attention  steadily  fixed 
on  their  grand  design,  and  w^ould  have  recourse  to  them  only 
as  helps  to  assist  him  in  presenting  a  spiritual  service  unto 
God.     Now  that  the  shadowy  dispensation  has  passed  away, 
it  remains  that  we  offer  unto  God  our  thanksgivings  through 
Christ,  who  sanctifies  them  by  his  own  immaculate  offering, 
lest  we  should  be  debarred  from  this  exercise  of  godliness, 
by  the  corruptions  of  our  flesh.      And  that  David  turned  his 
attention  to  the  praises  of  God,  is  abundantly  manifest  from 
the   following  verse,   in  which   he  promises  that  he  loould 
celebrate  the  name  of  God,  because  he  was  his  God,  and  he 
knew  it ;  that  is,  he  felt  from  experience  that  from  his  hand 
he  might  calculate  on  receiving  sure  and  immediate  assist- 
ance. / 


398  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 


PSALM  CXIX. 

As  this  psalm  treats  of  various  matters,  it  is  difficult  to  give  an  epitome 
of  its  contents.  There  are,  however,  two  things  which  the  prophet 
mainly  aims  at ;  the  exhorting  of  the  chilckeu  of  God  to  follow  godli- 
ness and  a  holy  life  ;  and  the  prescribing  of  the  rule,  and  pointing  out 
the  form  of  the  true  worship  of  God,  so  that  the  faithful  may  devote 
themselves  wholly  to  the  study  of  the  Law.  Along  with  these  he 
frequently  blends  promises  for  the  pm-pose  of  animating  the  worship- 
pers of  God  to  live  more  justly  and  piously  ;  and,  at  the  same  time, 
he  introduces  complaints  respecting  the  impious  contempt  of  the  Law, 
lest  they  should  become  tamted  by  bad  examples.  In  short,  he  fre- 
quently passes  from  one  topic  to  another,  and  in'osecutes  no  one  par- 
ticular subject  continuously  ;^  and  therefore  it  will  be  best  to  discuss 
each  subject  in  its  proper  place. 


'  It  is,  however,  a  mistake  to  suppose,  that  no  connection  of  thought  is 
observed  throughout  this  lengthened  composition,  as  has  sometimes  been 
asserted  even  by  writers  of  note.  "  It  has  been  too  commonly  assumed," 
says  Jebb,  "  that  the  119  th  psalm  is  a  collection  of  unconnected  thoughts. 
To  this  opinion,  even  that  most  profound  religious  philosopheiv  Dr  Barrow, 
inclines,  (Sermon  48,  on  Ps.  cxix.  60  ;)  and  his  eloquent  words  must,  in 
this  instance,  be  received  with  no  small  caution.  'This  psalm,'  he  says,  'no 
less  excellent  in  vntue  than  large  in  bulli,  containeth  manifold  reflections 
on  the  nature,  the  properties,  the  adjuncts,  and  effects  of  God's  law ;  many 
sprightly  ejaculations  about  it,  conceived  in  different  forms  of  speech  ; 
some  in  way  of  petition,  some  of  thanksgiving,  some  of  resolution,  some 
of  assertion  or  aphorism  ;  many  useful  directions,  many  zealous  exhorta- 
tions to  the  observance  of  it ;  the  which  are  not  ranged  in  any  strict 
order,  but,  like  a  variety  of  wholesome  herbs  in  a  fair  field,  do,  with  a 
grateful  confusion,  lie  dispersed,  as  they  freely  did  spring  in  the  heart,  or 
were  suggested  by  the  devout  spirit  of  him  who  indited  this  psalm,  where 
no  coherence  of  sentences  being  designed,  we  may  consider  any  one  of 
them  absolutely  or  singly  by  itself.'  The  fine  imagination  of  this 
eminent  writer  justly  recognises  the  beautiful  variety,  the  variegations 
of  thought,  the  xoXi/to/x/Ao?  (TCi<p/«  exhibited  in  this  psalm  ;  but  too  much 
seems  to  be  conceded  to  the  prevalent  opinion  of  a  want  of  connection. 
I  Avillingly  allow,  that  the  sentiments  are  not  limited  and  enthralled  by 
any  exact  or  Procrustean  rule  ;  that  there  are  no  measures  of  intellectual 
geometry  adhered  to,  reducing  this  divine  poem  to  a  rigid  didactic  system  : 
that  the  mind  of  the  prophet  is  free,  and  flowing,  and  discursive.  Still 
this  very  flow  of  thought  implies  connection  and  association,  and  forbids 
the  frigid  idea  that  the  psalm  is  a  mere  canto  of  reflections,  like  Lord 
Bacon's  collection  of  aphorisms,  or  the  maxims  of  Isocrates.  I  do  not 
intend  to  maintain  what  could  not  be  proved,  that  a  consecutive  order 
can  be  traced  throughout ;  but  instances  can,  undoubtedly,  be  drawn  of 
passages  which  maintain  a  beautiful  sequence  and  connection  between 
their  several  members." — Jebb  s  Literal  Translation  of  the  Book  of  Psalms, 
with  Dissertations,  vol.  ii.  pp.  271-276. 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  399 

N  1.  Blessed  are  they  loho  are  upright '   in  their  way,  walking 

in  the  laia  of  Jehovah. 
a  2.  Blessed  are  they  toho,  keeping  his  testimonies,  seek  him 

loith  all  their  heart. 
X  3.  Surely  they  do  not  work  iniquity,  tvho  walk  in  his  ways. 
N  4.   Thoic  hast  commanded  that  thy  statutes  shotdd  be  observed 

carefully.^ 
N  5.  7  wish  that  my  vmys  may  be  directed  to  the  observing  of 

thy  statutes ! 
N  6.  Then  I  shall  not  be  ashamed,  when  I  have  respect  to  all  thy 

precepts. 
a  7.  I  loill  praise  thee  in  the  uprightness  of  my  heart,    when  I 

shall  have  learned  the  judgments  of  thy  righteousness. 
a  8.  I  will  observe  thy  statutes :  do  not  forsake  me  very  far. ^ 

Some  call  this  the  octonary  psalm,  because  that,  through 
every  successive  eight  verses,  the  initial  words  of  each  line 
begin  with  the  same  letter  in  alphabetical  order.  That  this 
was  done  to  aid  the  memory,  may  be  gathered  from  each 
part  containing  a  doctrine,  which  ought  to  form  a  theme 
of  constant  meditation  among  the  children  of  God.  For  the 
purpose,  therefore,  of  rendering  it  less  irksome  to  the  reader, 
the  prophet  has  distinguished  every  successive  eight  verses 
by  their  beginning  each  with  the  corresponding  letter  of  the 
Hebrew  alphabet,  and  thus  all  excuses,  on  the  score  of  igno- 
rance, are  removed,  even  from  the  callous  and  slothful.  This 
help  does  not  extend  to  those  who  read  it  in  other  languages ; 
but  the  principle  must  not  be  overlooked,  that  the  doctrine 
exhibited  in  this  psalm  should  be  carefully  studied  by  all  the 
children  of  God,  and  treasured  up  in  their  hearts,  to  render 
them  the  more  conversant  with  it.  Touching  the  author,  I 
assert  nothing,  because  it  cannot  be  ascertained,  even  by 
probable  conjecture,  who  he  was  ;  and  expositors  are  agreed 
that  no  satisfactory  conclusion  can  be  arrived  at  in  the  matter. 

'  "  Vcl,  perfect!." — Lat.  marg.    "  Or,  perfect." 

2  -IX)3i  meod,  superlatively, — to  the  uttermost. 

2  Hammond  reads,  "O  forsake  me  not  to  any  great  degree ;"  and  adds, 
"  The  Hebrew  *iXD"ny>  «^  meod,  here,  and  in  verse  43,  is  literally  unto 
very  muck.  So  the  LXX.  render  it,  hi;  (rcpo'ogst,  i.  e.,  to  any  hiyh  degree, 
the  Chaldce,  'unto  all  at  once,'  but  the  Syriac,j^/-  ever,  both  referring  it 
to  the  time,  whereas  the  Hebrew  seems  ratlier  to  the  degree,  from  the 
noun  that  signifiies  multitude,  plenty,  abundance.'" 


400  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

As  David  surpassed  all  others  in  point  of  poetical  and  devo- 
tional talent,  I  will  not  scruple  occasionally  to  insert  his 
name.^ 

It  may  be  proper  to  take  notice  of  certain  terms  which 
frequently  occur  in  the  psalm.  Of  the  term  rTTin>  torali, 
I  say  nothing,  which,  having  its  derivation  from  a  word  which 
signifies  to  instruct,  is  yet  uniformly  taken  for  law.  Some 
of  the  Rabbins  affirm  that  D''pinj  chukim,  signifies  statutes, 
or  divinely  appointed  rites,  the  reason  of  which  is  very  obvi- 
ous. They  say  that  D''*lpS>  iiliikudim,  denotes  those  precepts 
which  relate  to  natural  justice.  It  is  certain  that  D''tOSK^/t3) 
mishpatim,  signifies  commandments,  because  this  is  proved  by 
the  etymology  of  the  w-ord.  As  to  TTny?  edoth,  the  He- 
brews understand  it  of  the  doctrine  of  the  law,  but  with  the 
certain  indication,  pointing  out  to  us  that  it  is  comprehensive 
of  the  manner  in  which  God  enters  into  covenant  with  his 
people.      The  precepts  of  the  law  are  denominated  judgments 


'  Some  consider  this  psalm,  as  well  as  all  the  other  alphabetic  psalms, 
to  be  much  more  modem  compositions  than  the  time  of  David,  and  refer 
it  to  the  tinfic  of  the  captivity  in  Babylon.  But  many  others,  as  Venema, 
Michaelis,  &c.,  ascribe  it  to  David,  and  suppose  it  to  have  been  Avrittcu 
before  his  elevation  to  the  throne.  Its  contents,  certainly,  favour  this 
latter  opinion,  seeming  to  accord  so  well  with  the  long  and  harassing 
persecution  to  which  he  was  subjected  by  the  malice  and  revenge  of  Saul. 
If  David  was  its  author,  it  is  the  most  artificial  and  operose  in  its  com- 
position of  all  his  psalms,  and  he  has  exhibited  in  the  treatment  of  his 
subject — which  is  the  celebration  of  the  perfection  of  God's  law,  and  the 
happiness  of  those  avIio  obey  it — an  extraordinary  fecundity  of  expression, 
as  if  one  of  his  intentions  had  been  to  show  in  how  many  various  shapes, 
and  with  what  copiousness  of  words,  he  could  enunciate  and  illustrate  a 
few  and  the  same  topics.  The  aspirations  for  instruction,  consolation, 
and  protection,  with  which  almost  eveiy  portion  of  this  psalm  is  mingled, 
have  a  soothing  and  delightful  effect,  whilst  the  language  throughout 
is  rendered  impressive  by  its  peculiar  strength  and  concinnity.  It  may, 
however,  be  doubtful,  whether  it  be  just  to  elevate  it,  as  has  been  done 
by  some,  above  all  the  other  psalms.  Dr  Adam  Clarke  justly  remarks, 
"  Like  all  other  portions  of  divine  revelation,  it  is  elegant,  important, 
and  useful ;  and  while  I  admire  the  fecundity  of  the  Psalmist's  genius, 
the  unabating  flow  of  his  poetic  vein,  his  numerous  synonymes,  and  his 
copiaverborum,  by  which  he  is  enabled  to  expound,  diversify,  and  illustrate 
the  same  idea :  presenting  it  to  his  reader  in  all  possible  points  of  view, 
so  as  to  render  it  pleasing,  instructive,  and  impressive  ;  I  cannot  rob  the 
rest  of  the  book  of  its  just  praise  by  setting  this,  as  many  have  done, 
above  all  the  pieces  it  contains.  It  is  by  far  the  longest,  the  most  arti- 
ficial, and  most  diversified  ;  yet,  in  proportion  to  its  length,  it  contains 
the  fewest  ideas  of  any  in  the  book." 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  401 

and  righteousness,  to  Inform  us  that  God  enjoins  nothing 
except  what  is  right  and  just,  and  that  mankind  ought  to 
seek  for  no  other  rule  for  the  perfecting  of  holiness,  but  what 
consists  in  regulating  their  life  by  rendering  obedience  to  the 
law.  The  meaning  is  almost  synonymous  when  they  are 
called  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  intimating  that  those  who  do 
not  depart  from  the  direction  of  the  law,  may  safely  con- 
clude that  they  are  in  no  danger  of  going  astray.  The 
ordinances  of  God,  and  the  edicts  of  kings,  have  the  term  CplHj 
chukim,  applied  to  them  indiscriminately,  and  'Q^'^^Tlp^,  pliikii- 
dim,  refers  to  different  kinds  of  justice,  as  is  manifest  from 
many  parts  of  Scripture,  which  demonstrates  that  there  is  no 
foundation  for  the  subtile  distinction  and  difference  formerly 
noticed.  And  in  this  psalm  almost  all  these  terms  are  syno- 
nymous, as  the  context  will  show.^  To  procure  greater  respect 

^  Others  deny  that  these  and  other  similar  terms,  which  frequently 
occur  in  this  psalm,  are  mere  synonymes  ;  and  they  have  endeavoured 
to  show  from  etymological  investigation,  that,  although  all  of  them  desig- 
nate the  law,  yet  they  present  it  under  a  different  aspect.  Jebb  has 
attempted,  at  some  length,  to  point  out  the  specific  differences  between 
these  words.  The  following  is  an  abstract  of  his  remarks : — "The  next 
peculiarity  to  be  observed  in  this  psalm  is,  the  regular  recurrence  of  nine 
characteristic  words,  at  least  one  or  other  of  which  is  found  in  each 
distich,  with  one  solitary  exception,  the  second  distich  of  the  12th  division. 
These  words  are  law,  testimonies^  precepts^  statutes^  commandments^  judg- 
ments^ word,  sayirig ;  and  a  word  which  only  twice  occurs  as  a  charac- 
teristic,— ivai/. 

"  These  are,  doubtless,  all  designations  of  the  Divine  Law  ;  but  it  were 
doing  a  deep  injury  to  the  cause  of  revealed  truth  to  affirm  that  they  are 
mere  synonymes  ;  in  other  woi'ds,  that  the  sentiments  of  this  compendium 
of  heavenly  wisdom  are  little  better  than  a  string  of  tautologies.  The 
fact  is,  as  some  critics,  both  Jewish  and  Christian,  have  observed,  that 
each  of  these  terms  designates  the  same  law  of  God,  but  each  under  a 
different  aspect,  signifying  the  different  modes  of  its  pi'omulgation,  and 
of  its  reception.  Each  of  these  Avords  will  now  be  examined  in  order, 
and  an  attempt  will  be  made  to  discriminate  them. 

"1.  Law.  This  word  is  formed  from  a  verb  which  means  to  direct, 
to  guide,  to  aim,  to  shoot  forwards.  Its  etymological  meaning,  then, 
would  be  a  ri;le  of  conduct,  a  xxvuv  accip^;.  It  means  God's  law  in  general, 
whether  it  be  that  universal  rule  called  the  law  of  nature,  or  that  which 
was  revealed  to  his  Church  by  Moses,  and  perfected  by  Christ.  In 
strictness,  the  law  means  a  plain  rule  of  conduct,  rather  placed  clearly  in 
man's  sight,  than  enforced  by  any  command  ;  that  is  to  say,  this  word 
does  not  necessarily  include  its  sanctions. 

"  2.  Testiynonies  are  derived  from  a  word  which  signifies  to  bear  wit- 
ness, to  testify.  The  ark  of  the  tabernacle  is  so  called,  as  are  the  two 
tables  of  stone,  and  the  tabernacle  :  the  earnests  and  witnesses  of  God's 
inhabitation  among  his  people.    Testimonies  are  more  particularly  God's 

VOL.  IV.  2  c 


402  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

for  the  law,  the  prophet  adorns  it  with  a  variety  of  titles, 
taking  care  constantly  to  enjoin  upon  us  the  same  doctrine.  I 
now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  contents  of  the  psalm. 

1.  Blessed  are  they  who  are  upright.  In  these  words  the 
prophet  sets  forth  the  same  paradox  which  we  met  with  at 
the  commencement  of  the  Book  of  Psalms.     All  men  natur- 

* 

revealed  law :  the  witnesses  and  confirmation  of  his  promises  made  to  his 
people,  and  earnests  of  his  future  salvation. 

"3.  Precepts^  from  a  word  which  means  to  place  in  trusty  mean  some- 
thing intrusted  to  man,  '  that  which  is  committed  to  thee  : '  appointments 
of  God,  which  consequently  have  to  do  with  the  conscience,  for  which 
man  is  responsible,  as  an  intelligent  being. 

"  4.  Statutes.  The  verb  from  which  this  word  is  fonned  means  to 
engrave  or  inscribe.  The  word  means  a  definite  prescribed  written  law. 
The  term  is  applied  to  Joseph's  law  about  the  portion  of  the  priests  in 
Egypt,  to  the  law  about  the  passover,  &c.  But  in  this  psalm  it  has  a 
more  internal  meaning ; — that  moral  law  of  God,  which  is  engraven  on  the 
fleshy  tables  of  the  heart ;  the  inmost  and  spiritual  apprehension  of  his 
will :  not  so  obvious  as  the  law  and  testimonies,  and  a  matter  of  moi'e 
direct  spiritual  communication  than  his  precepts :  the  latter  being  more 
elaborated  by  the  efforts  of  the  mind  itself,  divinely  guided  indeed,  but 
perhaps  more  instrumentally,  and  less  passively,  employed. 

"  5.  Commandments.,  derived  from  a  verb  signifying  to  command  or 
ordain.  Such  was  God's  command  to  Adam  about  the  tree ;  to  Noah 
about  constructing  the  ark. 

"  6.  Judgments.,  derived  from  a  word  signifying  to  govern,  to  judge 
or  determine,  mean  judicial  ordinances  and  decisions  :  legal  sanctions. 

"  7.  Word.  There  are  two  terms,  quite  distinct  in  the  Hebrew,  but 
both  rendered  word,  in  each  of  our  authorised  versions.  The  latter  of 
these  is  rendered  saying  in  the  former  volume  of  this  work.  They  are 
closely  connected ;  since  out  of  twenty-two  passages  in  which  word 
occurs,  in  fourteen  it  is  parallel  to,  or  in  connection  with,  saying.  From 
this  very  ch'cumstance  it  is  evident  they  are  not  synonymous. 

"  The  term  here  rendered  word  means  the  Aoyo^,  or  Word  of  God,  in 
its  most  divine  sense ;  the  announcement  of  God's  revealed  will ;  his 
command  ;  his  oracle  ;  at  times,  the  sjiecial  communication  to  the  pro- 
phets. The  ten  commandments  are  called  by  this  term  in  Exodus :  and 
"l"i3T  is  the  oracle  in  the  temple.  In  this  psalm  it  may  be  considered  as, 
— 1.  God's  revealed  commandments  in  general.  2.  As  a  revealed  pro- 
mise of  certain  blessings  to  the  righteous.  3.  As  a  thing  committed  to 
him  as  the  minister  of  God.  4.  As  a  rule  of  conduct ;  a  channel  of  illu- 
mination. 

"  8.  As  to  the  remaining  word  ?oay,  that  occm's  but  tmce  as  a  charac- 
teristic word,  and  the  places  in  which  it  occurs  must  rather  be  considered 
as  exceptions  to  the  general  rule  :  so  that  I  am  not  disposed  to  consider  it 
as  intended  to  be  a  cognate  expression  with  the  above.  At  all  events, 
its  meaning  is  so  direct  and  simple  as  to  require  no  explanation :  a  plain 
rule  of  conduct ;  in  its  higher  sense,  the  assisting  grace  of  God  through 
Christ  our  Lord,  who  is  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life." — Jebb^s 
Literal  Translation  of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  ivith  Dissertations,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
279-293. 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  403 

ally  aspire  after  happiness,  but  instead  of  searching  for  it  in 
the  right  path,  they  designedly  prefer  wandering  up  and 
down  through  endless  by-paths,  to  their  ruin  and  destruction. 
The  Holy  Spirit  deservedly  condemns  this  apathy  and  blind- 
ness. And  but  for  man's  cupidity,  which,  with  brutish  im- 
petuosity, hurries  him  in  the  opposite  direction,  the  meaning 
of  the  words  would  appear  quite  plain  to  him.  And  the 
farther  a  man  wanders  from  God,  the  happier  does  he  imagine 
himself  to  be ;  and  hence  all  treat,  as  a  fable,  what  the  Holy 
Spirit  declares  about  true  piety  and  the  service  of  God.  This 
is  a  doctrine  which  scarcely  one  among  a  hundred  receives. 

The  term  loay^  is  here  put  for  the  manner,  or  course  and 
way  of  life  :  and  hence  he  calls  those  upright  in  their  way, 
whose  sincere  and  uniform  desire  it  is  to  practise  righteous- 
ness, and  to  devote  their  life  to  this  purpose.  In  the  next 
clause  of  the  verse,  he  specifies  more  clearly,  that  a  godly 
and  righteous  life  consists  in  walking  in  the  law  of  God,  If  a 
person  follow  his  own  humour  and  caprice,  he  is  certain  to 
go  astray ;  and  even  should  he  enjoy  the  applause  of  the 
whole  world,  he  will  only  weary  himself  with  very  vanity. 
But  it  may  be  asked,  whether  the  prophet  excludes  from 
the  hope  of  happiness  all  who  do  not  worship  God  perfectly? 
Were  this  his  meaning,  it  would  follow,  that  none  except 
angels  alone  would  be  happy,  seeing  that  the  perfect  obser- 
vance of  the  law  is  to  be  found  in  no  part  of  the  earth.  The 
answer  is  easy  :  When  uprightness  is  demanded  of  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  they  do  not  lose  the  gracious  remission  of  their 
sins,  in  which  their  salvation  alone  consists.  While,  then,  the 
servants  of  God  are  happy,  they  still  need  to  take  refuge  in 
his  mercy,  because  their  uprightness  is  not  complete.  In 
this  manner  are  they  who  faithfully  observe  the  law  of  God 
said  to  be  truly  happy ;  and  thus  is  fulfilled  that  which  is 
declared  in  Ps.  xxxii.  2,  "  Blessed  are  they  to  whom  God  im- 
puteth  not  sins."  In  the  second  verse,  the  same  doctrine  is 
confirmed  more  fully,  by  pronouncing  blessed,  not  such  as 
are  wise  in  their  own  conceit,  or  assume  a  sort  of  fantastical 
holiness,  but  those  who  dedicate  themselves  to  the  covenant 
of  God,  and  yield  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  his  law. 
Farther,  by  these  words,  he  tells  us  that  God  is  by  no  means 


404  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

satisfied  with  mere  external  service,  for  he  demands  the  sin- 
cere and  honest  affection  of  the  heart.  And  assuredly,  if 
God  be  the  sole  judge  and  disposer  of  our  life,  the  truth  must 
occupy  the  principal  place  in  our  heart,  because  it  is  not 
sufficient  to  have  our  hands  and  feet  only  enlisted  in  his 
service. 

3.  Surely  they  do  not  work  iniquity.  The  statement,  that 
they  who  follow  God  as  their  guide  do  not  work  iniquity, 
may  seem  to  be  a  mere  common-place,  and  universally  ad- 
mitted truth.  The  prophet  has  two  reasons  for  making  it ; 
first,  to  teach  us  that  our  life  must  be  entirely  under  the 
direction  of  God  ;  and,  secondly,  that  we  may  more  diligently 
and  carefully  attend  to  his  doctrine.  It  is  acknowledged  by 
every  one,  that  those  who  render  obedience  to  God  are  in 
no  danger  of  going  astray,  and  yet  every  one  is  found  turning 
aside  to  his  own  ways.  Does  not  such  licentiousness  or  pre- 
sumption palpably  demonstrate  that  they  have  a  greater 
resfard  for  their  own  devices  than  for  the  unerring  law  of 
God?  And  after  all,  as  often  as  a  man  happens  to  fall,  is 
not  the  plea  of  inadvertence  instantly  alleged,  as  if  none  ever 
sinned  knoAvingly  and  voluntarily  ;  or  as  if  the  law  of  God, 
which  is  an  antidote  to  all  delinquencies,  because  it  keeps  all  our 
vicious  propensities  in  check,  did  not  furnish  us  with  sufficient 
wisdom  to  put  us  upon  our  guard  ?  The  prophet,  therefore, 
very  justly  declares,  that  those  who  are  instructed  in  the  law 
of  God,  cannot  set  up  the  plea  of  ignorance  when  they  faU  into 
sin,  seeing  they  are  wilfuUy  blind.  Were  they  to  attend 
carefully  to  God's  voice,  they  would  be  well  fortified  against 
all  the  snares  of  Satan.  To  strike  them  with  terror,  he  in- 
forms them  in  the  fourth  verse,  that  God  demands  a  rigid 
observance  of  the  law ;  from  which  it  may  be  gathered,  that 
he  will  not  suffer  the  contemners  of  it  to  escape  with  impunity. 
Besides,  by  speaking  to  God  in  the  second  person,  he  places 
him  before  our  eyes  as  a  Judge. 

5.  /  wish  that  my  ways  may  he  directed.  The  original  word 
P^,  kun,  is  sometimes  rendered  to  establish,  and,  accordingly, 
it  may  seem  as  if  the  prophet  were  soliciting  for  himself  the 


rSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  405 

virtue  of  perseverance.  I  am  rather  inclined  to  understand 
it  as  signifying  to  direct;  for,  although  God's  plainly 
instructing  us  in  his  law,  the  obtuseness  of  our  understanding, 
and  the  perversity  of  our  hearts,  constantly  need  the  direc- 
tion of  his  Spirit.  Our  main  desire,  therefore,  ought  to  be 
for  an  understanding  wisely  regulated  by  the  law  of  God, 
and  also  for  a  docile  and  obedient  heart.  Next,  he  adds,  if  a 
man  carefiilly  observe  the  law  of  God,  he  need  be  under  no 
apprehension  that  he  will  ever  regret  what  he  has  done  or 
undertaken  to  do.  The  word  respect  intimates,  that  we  must 
not  be  influenced  by  our  own  designs,  nor  decide,  according 
to  carnal  reason,  what  we  are  to  do,  but  must  at  once  come 
to  the  determination,  that  they  who  turn  not  aside,  either  to 
the  right  hand  or  the  left,  from  the  observance  of  God's  com- 
mandments, are  indeed  in  the  right  path.  They  who  rever- 
ently respect  his  law,  may  not  escape  the  censure  of  the 
great  bulk  of  mankind,  yet  the  prophet  declares,  that  they 
shall  not  be  ashamed,  because  they  have  a  good  conscience 
in  the  presence  of  God  and  the  angels,  and,  with  the  approval 
of  this  celestial  assembly,  they  are  well  satisfied  and  content- 
ed ;  for  if  they  depended  upon  the  opinion  of  the  world,  their 
courage  would  presently  fail.  He  says,  all  thy  precepts,  inti- 
mating, that  among  the  snares  of  Satan,  amid  such  thick 
darkness  and  so  great  insensibility  as  ours,  the  utmost  vigi- 
lance and  caution  are  necessary,  if  we  would  aim  at  being 
entirely  exempted  from  blame.  Wherefore,  in  all  that  we 
do,  we  must  endeavour  to  have  the  law  before  us,  to  keep  us 
from  falling. 

7.  I  will  praise  thee.  He  affirms  it  to  be  a  singular  instance 
of  the  loving-kindness  of  God,  if  a  person  has  made  consider- 
able proficiency  in  his  law.  As  a  token  and  testimony  of 
this,  he  here  puts  the  giving  of  thanks  to  God ;  as  if  he  should 
say.  Lord,  thou  wilt  confer  upon  me  an  inestimable  blessing, 
if  thou  instruct  me  in  thy  law.  It  follows,  therefore,  that 
nothing  in  this  life  is  more  to  be  desired  than  this ;  and  my 
fervent  prayer  is,  that  we  may  be  fairly  and  fiilly  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  it.  For  while  searching  carefully  after  such 
things  as  we  deem  advantageous  to  us,  we  do  not  overlook 


406  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

any  earthly  convenience,  and  yet  we  neglect  that  which  is 
of  most  importance.  The  phrase,  the  judgments  of  thy  riglit- 
eousness,  is  the  same  with  the  commandments,  in  which  per- 
fect righteousness  is  comprehended ;  and  thus  the  prophet 
commends  God's  law  on  account  of  the  thorough  perfection 
of  the  doctrine  contained  in  it.  From  this  verse  we  learn, 
that  none  will  praise  God  unfeignedly  and  cordially  but  he 
who  has  made  such  proficiency  in  his  school  as  to  mould  his 
life  into  subjection  to  him.  It  is  vain  to  make  a  pretence  of 
praising  God  with  the  mouth  and  the  tongue  if  we  dishonour 
him  by  our  life.  Hence  the  prophet  very  justly  here  makes 
the  fruit  of  genuine  piety  to  consist  in  celebrating  the  praises 
of  God  without  hypocrisy. 

8.  I  will  observe  thg  statutes.  In  these  words  he  avers  it 
to  be  his  intention  to  observe  the  law  of  God,  but,  conscious 
of  his  own  weakness,  he  utters  a  prayer  that  God  would  not 
deprive  him  of  his  grace.  The  term  forsake  is  susceptible  of 
two  interpretations,  either  that  God  withdraws  his  Spirit,  or 
that  he  permits  his  people  to  be  brought  low  by  adversity, 
as  if  he  had  forsaken  them.  The  latter  interpretation  agrees 
best  with  the  context,  and  is  most  in  accordance  with  the 
phrase  immediately  subjoined,  very  far.  The  prophet  is  not 
altogether  averse  to  the  trial  of  his  faith,  only  he  is  apprehen- 
sive lest  it  might  fail  were  the  trial  to  be  too  long  protracted, 
and  therefore  he  desires  to  be  treated  with  tenderness  in  his 
infirmity.  "  O  God  !  thou  seest  my  frame  of  mind,  and,  as  I 
am  but  a  man,  do  not  conceal  too  long  from  me  the  tokens 
of  thy  favour,  or  defer  helping  me  longer  than  is  proper  for 
me,  lest,  imagining  myself  to  be  forsaken  of  thee,  I  turn  aside 
from  the  direct  pui-suit  of  godliness." 

2  9.   Wherewith  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way  ?  By  talcing  heed 

according  to  thy  ivord. 

3  10.  I  have  sought  thee  ivith  my  tvhole  heart;  do  not  permit  me  to 

wander  from  thy  commandments. 
all./  have  hid  thy  word  in  my  heart^  that  I  might  not  sin  against 
thee. 

1  I  have  hid  thy  word  in  my  heart,  i.e.,  I  have  laid  it  up  there,  as  men 
deposit  their  most  precious  possessions  in  a  secure  place  known  only  to 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS. 


407 


n  12.  Blessed  art  thou,  0  Jehovah!  teach  me  thy  statutes. 

3  13.   With  my  lips  have  I  declared  all  the  judgments  ofHiy  mouth. 

3  14.  I  have  taken  pleasure  in  the  way  of  thy  testimonies,  as  much  as 

in  all  riches. 
2   15.  I  will  meditate  upon  thy  precepts,  and  ivill  take  heed  to  thy 

paths. 
2  16.  I  will  delight  myself  in  thy  statutes ;  I  will  not  forget  thy  words. 

9.   IVherewith  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way  ?     In  this 
place  he  repeats,  in  different  words,  the  same  truth  which  he 
formerly  advanced,  That,  however  much   men   may  pique 
themselves  upon  their  own  works,  there  is  nothing  pure  in 
their  life  until  they  have  made  a  complete  surrender  of  them- 
selves to  the  word  of  the  Lord.     The  more  effectually  to 
excite  them  to  this,  he  produces,  in  an  especial  manner,  the 
example  of  children  or  youths.     In  mentioning  these,  he  by 
no  means  gives  an  unbridled  license  to  those  who  have  arrived 
at  mature  years,  or  who  are  aged,  as  if  they  were  competent 
to  regulate  their  own  life,  and  as  if  their  own  prudence  served 
as  a  law  to  them ;  but  because  youth  puts  men  where  two 
ways  meet,  and  renders  it  imperative  for  them  to  select  the 
course  of  life  which  they  mean  to  follow,  he  declares  that, 
when  a  person  sets  about  the  regulation  of  his  life,  no  advice 
will  prove  of  any  advantage,  unless  he  adopts  the  law  of  God 
as  his  rule  and  guide.     In  this  way  the  prophet  stimulates 
men  to  an  early  and  seasonable  regulation  of  their  manners, 
and  not  to   delay  doing   so  any  longer,  agreeably   to  the 
words  of  Solomon, "  Remember  thy  Creator  in  thy  youth,  ere 
the  days  of  trouble  come,  and  the  years  which  shall  be  grief  unto 
thee,"  Eccles.  xii.  1.^    They  who  defer  from  time  to  time  be- 
come hardened  in  their  vicious  practices,  and  arrive  at  mature 
years,  when  it  is  too  late  to  attempt  a  reformation.    There  is 
another  reason,  arising  from  the  fact,  of  the  carnal  propen- 
sities being  very  powerful  in  youth,  requiring  a  double  re- 
straint ;  and  the  more  they  are  inclined  to  excess,  the  greater 
is  the  necessity  for  curbing  their  licentiousness.    The  prophet, 
therefore,  not  without  reason,  exhorts  them  particularly  to 

themselves.    Comp.  Prov.  xi.  1 ;  and  see  2  Kings  xx.  13,  &c.,  for  an 
instance  of  the  contrary  practice. 

'  "  Et  les  ans  qui  se  seront  en  fascherie." — Fr. 


408  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

attend  to  the  observance  of  the  law.  We  may  reason  from 
the  greater  to  the  less  ;  for  if  the  law  of  God  possesses  the 
power  of  restraining  the  impetuosity  of  youth,  so  as  to  pre- 
serve pure  and  upright  all  who  take  it  for  their  guide,  then, 
assuredly,  vv^hen  they  come  to  maturity,  and  their  irregular 
desires  are  considerably  abated,  it  will  prove  the  best  antidote 
for  correcting  their  vices.  The  reason,  therefore,  of  so  much 
evil  prevailing  in  the  world,  arises  from  men  wallowing  in 
their  own  impurity,  and  being  disposed  to  yield  more  to  their 
own  inclination  than  to  heavenly  instruction.  The  only  sure 
protection  is,  to  regulate  ourselves  according  to  God's  word. 
Some,  wise  in  their  own  conceit,  throw  themselves  into  the 
snares  of  Satan,  others,  from  listlessness  and  languor,  live  a 
vile  and  wicked  life. 

10.  With  my  whole  heart.  Conscious  of  the  integrity  of 
his  heart,  the  prophet  still  implores  the  help  of  God,  that  he 
might  not  stumble  by  reason  of  his  infirmity.  He  makes  no 
boast  of  self-preparation,  as  if  he  had  spontaneously  begun  to 
inquire  after  God,  but  in  praising  the  grace  which  he  had 
experienced,  he  at  the  same  time  asj)ires  after  stedfastness  to 
persevere  in  walking  in  his  ways.  It  is  folly  on  the  part  of 
the  Papists  to  seize  upon  this  and  similar  passages,  as  if  the 
saints,  of  their  own  free  will,  anticipated  the  grace  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  afterwards  were  favoured  with  his  aid.  The 
prophet  does  not  make  a  division  between  God  and  himself, 
but  rather  prays  God  to  continue  his  work  till  it  is  completed, 
agreeably  with  what  we  are  generally  taught,  to  keep  God 
mindful  of  his  benefits  until  he  accomplish  them. 

In  the  meantime,  there  is  good  cause  for  presenting  our 
supplication  to  God,  to  stretch  out  his  hand  towards  us  when 
he  sees  our  minds  so  settled,  that  we  are  solicitous  of  nothing 
so  much  as  acting  uprightly.  And  as  he  elevates  us  with 
confidence  to  ask  the  gift  of  perseverance,  when  he  inspires 
our  hearts  with  proper  affection  towards  him,  so  also  does  he 
entreat  us  for  the  future  not  to  sink  into  a  careless  and  lan- 
guid state  like  soldiers  who  have  been  discharged,  but  seek 
to  be  constantly  directed  by  the  spirit  of  wisdom,  and  to  be 
sustained  by  the  principles  of  fortitude  and  virtue.     David 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  409 

here,  from  his  own  example,  points  out  to  us  a  rule,  that  by- 
how  much  a  man  finds  himself  succoured  by  God,  by  so  much 
-ought  he  to  be  induced  the  more  carefully  and  earnestly  to 
implore  the  continuance  of  his  aid  ;  for  unless  he  restrain  us, 
we  will  instantly  wander  and  go  astray.  This  sentiment  is 
more  explicitly  stated  in  the  original  word  ^JJ^J^Hj  tashgeniy 
which  is  in  the  passive  voice,  and  signifies,  to  be  led  astray} 
From  the  import  of  the  term,  I  do  not  mean  to  establish  the 
doctrine  that  God  secretly  incites  us  to  commit  sin,  but  only 
to  let  my  readers  know,  that  such  is  our  liability  to  err,  that 
we  immediately  relapse  into  sin  the  instant  he  leaves  us  to 
ourselves.  This  passage  also  admonishes  us  that  the  man 
who  swerves  but  a  little  from  God's  commandments  is  guilty 
of  going  astray. 

11.  I  have  hid  thy  word  in  my  heart.  This  psalm  not  being 
composed  for  the  personal  and  peculiar  use  of  the  author 
only,  we  may  therefore  understand,  that  as  frequently  as 
David  sets  before  us  his  own  example,  under  this  model  he 
points  out  the  course  we  ought  to  pui'sue.  Here  we  are  in- 
formed that  we  are  well  fortified  against  the  stratagems  of 
Satan  when  God's  law  is  deeply  seated  in  our  hearts.  For 
unless  it  have  a  fast  and  firm  hold  there,  we  will  readily  fall 
into  sin.  Among  scholars,  those  whose  knowledge  is  con- 
fined to  books,  if  they  have  not  the  book  always  before  them, 
readily  discover  their  ignorance ;  in  like  manner,  if  we  do 
not  imbibe  the  doctrine  of  God,  and  are  well  acquainted  with 
it,  Satan  will  easily  surprise  and  entangle  us  in  his  meshes. 
Our  true  safeguard,  then,  lies  not  in  a  slender  knowledge  of 
his  law,  or  in  a  careless  perusal  of  it,  but  in  hiding  it  deeply 
in  our  hearts.  Here  we  are  reminded,  that  however  men  may 
be  convinced  of  their  own  wisdom,  they  are  yet  destitute  of 
all  right  judgment,  except  as  far  as  they  have  God  as  their 
teacher. 

12.  Blessed  art  thou,  O  Jehovah  !   Such  had  been  the  pro- 

i  "The  Hebrew  >jjt^»n  is  here  in  the  conjugation  Iliphll,  from  njK', 
to  be  ignorant  or  err.  Now  of  that  conjugation  the  Hebrews  observe, 
that  as  it  signifies  sometimes  no  more  than  to  permit,  so  it  sometimes  notes 
to  cause,  sometimes  to  occasion,  that  which  tlie  verb  imports." — Hammond, 


410  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

phet's  proficiency,  that  he  was  not  only  one  of  God's  disciples, 
but  alsoapublic  teacher  of  the  Church.  Nevertheless,  acknow- 
ledging himself  and  all  the  upright  to  be  only  on  their  journey 
till  they  arrive  at  the  close  of  life,  he  fails  not  to  ask  for  the 
spirit  of  understanding.  This  passage  informs  us  generally, 
that  if  God  do  not  enlighten  us  with  the  spirit  of  discern- 
ment, we  are  not  competent  to  behold  the  light  which  shines 
forth  from  his  law,  though  it  be  constantly  before  us.  And 
thus  it  happens,  that  not  a  few  are  blind  even  when  surrounded 
with  the  clear  revelation  of  this  doctrine,  because,  confident 
in  their  own  perspicacity,  they  contemn  the  internal  illumi- 
nation of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Farther,  let  us  learn  from  this 
passage,  that  none  are  possessed  of  such  superiority  of  intel- 
lect as  not  to  admit  of  constant  increase.  If  the  prophet, 
upon  whom  God  had  conferred  so  honourable  an  office  as  a 
teacher  of  the  Church,  confesses  himself  to  be  only  a  disciple 
or  scholar,  what  madness  is  it  for  those  who  are  greatly  behind 
him  in  point  of  attainments  not  to  strain  every  nerve  to  rise 
to  higher  excellence?  Nor  does  he  depend  upon  his  own 
merits  for  obtaining  his  requests ;  he  beseeches  God  to  grant 
them  from  a  regard  to  his  own  glory.  This  appears  from 
the  phraseology  by  which  he  introduces  his  request.  Blessed 
art  thouy  O  Jeliovali  I  intimating,  that  his  confidence  of  success 
originated  in  God's  being  fully  entitled  to  all  praise  on  ac- 
count of  his  unbounded  goodness,  justice,  and  mercy. 

13.  With  my  lips.  In  this  verse  he  declares  that  the  law  of 
God  was  not  only  deeply  engraven  on  his  own  heart,  but  that 
it  was  his  earnest  and  strenuous  endeavour  to  gain  over  many 
of  his  fellow-disciples  into  subjection  to  God.  It  is  indeed  a 
heartless  matter  to  speak  of  the  law  of  God  abstractly,  as  we 
see  hypocrites  do,  who  talk  very  fluently  about  the  whole 
doctrine  of  godliness,  to  which  they  are  entire  strangers. 
What  the  prophet  noticed  above,  respecting  the  affection  of 
the  heart  for  God's  law,  he  now  likewise  applies  to  the  lips. 
And,  immediately  afterwards,  he  again  establishes  the  truth 
of  what  he  had  asserted  about  his  cordial  and  unfeigned  en- 
deavours to  instruct  others  ;  by  saying,  that  he  derived  no  less 
pleasure  from  the  doctrine  of  God  than  from  all  the  riches  of 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  411 

the  world.  Pie  indirectly  contrasts  his  holy  love  for  the  law, 
with  which  he  was  inflamed,  with  the  unholy  avarice  which 
has  taken  possession  of  almost  all  the  world.  "  As  wealth 
attracts  to  itself  the  hearts  of  mankind,  so  I  have  taken  more 
exquisite  delight  in  the  progress  which  I  make  in  the  doctrine 
of  godliness,  than  if  I  abounded  in  all  manner  of  riches." 

15.  In  thy  precepts.  That  to  which  I  formerly  adverted 
must  not  be  forgotten — the  prophet's  not  making  a  boast  of 
his  own  acquirements,  but  setting  before  others  an  example  for 
their  imitation.  We  are  aware  that  the  majority  of  mankind 
are  so  much  involved  in  the  cares  of  the  world,  as  to  leave  no 
time  or  leisure  for  meditating  upon  the  doctrine  of  God.  To 
meet  this  callous  indifference,  he  very  seasonably  commends 
diligence  and  attention.  And  even  were  we  not  so  ensnared 
by  the  world,  we  know  how  readily  we  lose  sight  of  the  law 
of  God,  in  the  daily  temptations  which  suddenly  overtake  us. 
It  is  not  therefore  without  reason  that  the  prophet  exhorts  us 
to  constant  exercise,  and  enjoins  us  to  direct  all  our  energies 
to  the  subject  of  meditation  on  God's  precepts.  And  as  the 
life  of  men  is  unstable,  being  continually  distracted  by  the 
carnality  of  their  minds,  he  declares  that  he  will  consider 
attentively  the  loays  of  God.  Subsequently,  he  repeats  the 
exquisite  pleasure  he  took  in  this  pursuit.  For  our  pro- 
ficiency in  the  law  of  God  will  be  small,  until  we  cheerfully 
and  heartily  set  our  minds  upon  it.  And,  in  fact,  the  com- 
mencement of  a  good  life  consists  in  God's  law  attracting  us 
to  him  by  its  sweetness.  By  the  same  means  the  lusts  of 
the  flesh,  too,  are  subdued  or  mitigated.  In  our  natural 
state,  what  is  more  agreeable  to  us  than  that  which  is  sinful  ? 
This  will  be  the  constant  tendency  of  our  minds,  unless  the 
delight  which  we  feel  in  the  law  carry  us  in  the  opposite 
direction. 

a  17.  Bo  good  to  thy  servant,  that  I  may  live,  and  keep  thy 

word, 
i  18.   Open  my  eyes,  and  I  shall  see  the  marvellous  things  of  thy 

lau}. 
i  19.  /  am  a  stranger  on  the  earth  :  do  not  conceal  from  me  thy 

commandments. 


412  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

i  20.  Mj/  soul  is  rent  with  the  desire  it  hath  at  all  times  unto  thy 

judgments. 
J  21.  Thou  hast  destroyed  the  proud,  they  are  accursed  that  wander 

from  thy  commandments. 
J  22.  Remove  fr6m  me  reproach  and  contempt ;  for  I  have  Jcept 

thy  testimonies, 
i  23.  Princes  also  did  sit,  they  spoke  against  me  :  thy  servant 

meditated  on  thy  statutes, 
i  24.  Also  thy  testimonies  are  my  delights,  the  men  of  my  counsel. 

17.  Do  good  to  thy  servant.  The  term  7^3,  gamal,  which 
some  render  to  requite,  does  not,  among  the  Hebrews,  import 
mutual  recompense,  but  frequently  signifies  to  confer  a  benefit^ 
as  in  Psalm  cxvi.  7,  and  many  other  passages.  Here  it  must 
be  viewed  as  expressive  of  free  favour.  The  words,  however, 
may  admit  of  two  senses.  They  may  be  read  as  a  separate 
clause,  in  this  manner :  O  God !  display  thy  goodness  to 
thy  servant,  and  thus  I  shall  live,  or  then  I  shall  esteem 
myself  happy.  Or  the  verse  may  form  one  connected  state- 
ment :  O  God !  grant  to  thy  servant  the  favour  that,  while 
I  live,  I  may  keep  thy  commandments.  If  the  former  lection 
is  adopted,  then,  by  these  words,  the  prophet  declares  that, 
without  the  favour  of  God,  he  is  like  a  dead  man  ;  that  though 
he  might  abound  in  every  thing  else,  yet  he  could  not  subsist 
without  feeling  that  God  was  propitious  towards  him.  The 
latter  interpretation  is  preferable.  That  the  prophet  asks  as  a 
principal  favour,  that,  while  he  lives,  he  may  devote  himself 
entirely  to  God  ;  being  fully  persuaded  that  the  grand  object 
of  his  existence  consists  in  his  exercising  himself  in  his  service, 
an  object  which  he  firmly  resolves  to  pursue.  For  this  reason 
these  two  clauses  are  connected  together,  that  I  may  live,  and 
keep  thy  v;ord.  "  I  desire  no  other  mode  of  living  than  that 
of  approving  myself  to  be  a  true  and  faithful  servant  of  God." 
All  wish  God  to  grant  them  a  prolongation  of  their  life ;  a 
wish  after  which  the  whole  world  ardently  aspire,  and  yet 
there  is  scarcely  one  among  a  hundred  who  reflects  upon  the 
purpose  for  which  he  ought  to  live.  To  withdraw  us  from 
cherishing  such  irrational  propensities,  the  prophet  here 
describes  the  main  object  of  our  existence.  He  declares  it 
to  be  owing  to  the  peculiar  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  that 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  413 

any  person  keeps  the  law  of  God.  Had  he  imagined  that 
the  preparing  of  himself  for  the  observance  of  his  law  depended 
on  his  own  free  will,  then  this  prayer  would  have  been  nothing 
else  than  downright  hypocrisy. 

Very  similar  is  the  doctrine  contained  in  the  next  verse. 
Having  acknowledged,  that  power  to  keep  the  law  is  im- 
parted to  men  by  God,  he,  at  the  same  time,  adds,  that  every 
man  is  blind,  until  he  also  enlighten  the  eyes  of  his  under- 
standing. Admitting  that  God  gives  light  to  us  by  his  word, 
the  prophet  hei*e  means  that  we  are  blind  amid  the  clearest 
light,  until  he  remove  the  veil  from  our  eyes.  When  he 
confesses  that  his  eyes  are  veiled  and  shut,  rendering  him 
unable  to  discern  the  light  of  the  heavenly  doctrine,  until 
God,  by  the  invisible  grace  of  his  Spirit,  open  them,  he  speaks 
as  if  he  were  deploring  his  own  blindness,  and  that  of  the 
whole  human  race.  But,  while  God  claims  this  power  for 
himself,  he  tells  us  that  the  remedy  is  at  hand,  provided  we 
do  not,  by  trusting  to  our  own  wisdom,  reject  the  gracious 
illumination  offered  to  us.  Let  us  learn,  too,  that  we  do  not 
receive  the  illumination  of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  make  us 
contemn  the  external  word,  and  take  pleasure  only  in  secret 
inspirations,  like  many  fanatics,  who  do  not  regard  themselves 
spiritual,  except  they  reject  the  word  of  God,  and  substitute 
in  its  place  their  own  wild  speculations.  Very  different  is 
the  prophet's  aim,  which  is  to  inform  us  that  our  illumination 
is  to  enable  us  to  discern  the  light  of  life,  that  God  manifests 
by  his  word.  He  designates  the  doctrine  of  the  law,  marvel- 
lous things,'^  to  humble  us,  to  contemplate  with  admiration  its 
height ;  and  to  convince  us  the  more  of  our  need  of  the  grace 
of  God,  to  comprehend  the  mysteries,  which  surpass  our 
limited  capacity.  From  which  we  infer,  that  not  only  the 
ten  commandments  are  included  in  the  term  law,  but  also  the 
covenant  of  eternal  salvation,  with  all  its  provisions,  which 
God  has  made.     And  knowing,  as  we  do,  that  Christ,  "in 

'  Marvellous  things  "  means  things  which  are  difficult  and  wonderful. 
The  reference  here  is  to  the  figures  and  adumbrations  of  the  law,  which 
so  veiled  and  concealed  the  substances  to  which  they  related,  that  the 
mass  of  readers  quite  lost  sight  of  them.  The  Psalmist  therefore  prays 
for  Divine  illumination,  to  enable  him  to  solve,  at  least  in  some  degree, 
the  enigmas  in  which  future  things  were  enveloped." — Walford. 


414  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

whom  are  hid  all  the  treasures  of  knowledge  and  wisdom," 
"  is  the  end  of  the  law,"  we  need  not  be  surprised  at  the 
prophet  commending  it,  in  consequence  of  the  sublime  mys- 
teries which  it  contains,  Col.  ii.  3  ;  Rom.  x.  4. 

19.  I  am  a  stranger  on  the  earth.  It  is  proper  to  inquire 
into  the  reason  for  his  calling  himself  a  sojourner  and  stranger 
in  the  world.  The  great  concern  of  the  unholy  and  worldly 
is  to  spend  their  life  here  easily  and  quietly ;  but  those  who 
know  that  they  have  their  journey  to  pursue,  and  have  their 
inheritance  reserved  for  them  in  heaven,  are  not  engrossed 
nor  entangled  with  these  perishable  things,  but  aspue  after 
that  place  to  which  they  are  invited.  The  meaning  may  be 
thus  summed  up :  "  Lord,  since  I  must  pass  quickly  through 
the  earth,  what  will  become  of  me  if  I  am  deprived  of  the 
doctrine  of  thy  law  ?"  We  learn  from  these  words  from 
what  point  we  must  commence  our  journey,  if  we  would  go 
on  our  way  cheerfully  unto  God. 

Besides,  God  is  said  to  conceal  his  commandments  from  those 
whose  eyes  he  does  not  open,  because,  not  being  endued 
with  spiritual  vision,  in  seeing  they  see  not,  so  that  what  is 
before  their  eyes  is  hid  from  them.  And,  to  demonstrate 
that  he  does  not  present  his  request  in  a  careless  manner,  the 
prophet  adds,  that  his  affection  for  the  law  is  most  intense ; 
for  it  is  no  common  ardour  which  is  expressed  by  him  in  the 
following  language.  My  soul  is  rent  with  the  desire  it  hath  at 
all  times  unto  thy  judgments.  As  the  man  who  may  concen- 
trate all  his  thoughts  on  one  point  with  such  intensity  as 
almost  to  deprive  him  of  the  power  of  perception,  may  be 
said  to  be  the  victim  of  his  intemperate  zeal,  so  the  prophet 
declares  the  energy  of  his  mind  to  be  paralysed  and  exhausted 
by  his  ardent  love  for  the  law.^  The  clause,  at  all  times,  is 
meant  to  express  his  perseverance ;  for  it  may  occasionally 

1  "  Every  intense  exertion  of  mind  has  an  influence,  if  it  be  long  con- 
tinued, to  exhaust  and  impair  the  faculties  in  some  degree.  Such  an 
effect  is  here  alluded  to ;  the  close  and  assiduous  attention  which  the 
Psalmist  had  paid,  and  the  exertion  of  strong  desire  which  he  had  exer- 
cised, produced  the  feeling  which  he  here  speaks  of.  He  is  also  to  be 
regarded  as  using  the  language  of  poetry,  which  admits  of  stronger 
colouring  than  prosaic  description." — Walford. 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  415 

happen  that  a  man  may  apply  himself  with  great  ardour  to 
the  study  of  the  heavenly  doctrine ;  but  it  is  only  temporary : 
his  zeal  soon  vanishes  away.  Stedfastness  is  therefore 
necessary,  lest,  through  weariness,  we  become  faint  in  our 
minds. 

21.  Tliou  hast  destroyed  the  proud.  Others  render  it,  Thou 
hast  rebuked  the  proud;  a  translation  of  which  the  Hebrew 
term  ^y^  gaar,  admits  when  the  letter  1,  heth,  is  joined  with 
it  in  construction ;  but  this  being  awanting,  it  is  better  to 
render  it  destroy}  It  makes,  however,  little  difference  to  the 
main  drift  of  the  passage,  there  being  no  doubt  that  the 
intention  of  the  prophet  is,  to  inform  us  that  God's  judgments 
instructed  him  to  apply  his  mind  to  the  study  of  the  law ; 
and  certainly  this  is  an  exercise  which  we  ought  on  no 
account  to  defer  till  God  visit  us  with  chastisement.  But 
when  we  behold  him  taking  vengeance  upon  the  wicked,  and 
the  despisers  of  his  word,  we  must  be  stupid,  indeed,  if  his 
rod  do  not  teach  us  wisdom ;  and,  doubtless,  it  is  an  instance 
of  special  kindness  on  God's  part,  to  spare  us,  and  only  to 
terrify  us  from  afar,  that  he  may  bring  us  to  himself  without 
injuring  or  chastising  us  at  all. 

It  is  not  without  reason  that  he  denominates  all  unbelievers 
proud,  because  it  is  true  faith  alone  which  humbles  us,  and 
all  rebellion  is  the  offspring  of  pride.  From  this  we  learn 
how  profitable  it  is  to  consider  carefully  and  attentively  the 
judgments  of  God,  by  which  he  overthrows  such  haughtiness. 
When  the  weak  in  faith  see  the  wicked  rise  in  furious  oppo- 
sition against  God,  arrogantly  casting  off  all  restraint,  and 
holding  all  religion  in  derision  with  impunity,  they  begin  to 
question  whether  there  be  a  God  who  sits  as  judge  in  heaven. 
God  may,  for  a  time,  wink  at  this :  by-and-bye,  we  witness 
him  setting  forth  some  indication  of  his  judgment,  to  convince 
us  that  he  hath  not  in  vain  uttered  threatenings  against  the 
violators  of  his  law ;  and  we  ought  to  bear  in  mind  that  all 
who  depart  from  him  are  reprobate. 

Let  it  be  carefully  observed  that,  by  loandering  from  his 

1  "  Maintenant  veu  qu'elle  n'y  est  point  adjoustee,  le  mot  de  Dcstruire 
y  convicndra  micux." — Fr. 


416  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX, 

commandments,  is  not  meant  all  kinds  of  transgression  indis- 
criminately, but  that  unbridled  licentiousness  which  proceeds 
from  impious  contempt  of  God.  It  is,  indeed,  given  as  a 
general  sentence,  that  "every  one  is  cursed  who  continueth  not 
in  all  things  which  are  written,"  (Deut.  xxvii.  26.)  But  as 
God,  in  his  paternal  kindness, bears  with  those  Avho  fail  through 
infirmity  of  the  flesh,  so  here  we  must  understand  these  judg- 
ments to  be  expressly  executed  upon  the  wicked  and  repro- 
bate ;  and  their  end,  as  Isaiah  declares,  is,  "  that  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  earth  may  learn  righteousness,"  (xxvi.  9.) 

22.  Remove  from  me  reproach.  This  verse  may  admit  of 
two  senses :  Let  the  children  of  God  walk  as  circumspectly 
as  it  is  possible  for  them  to  do,  they  will  not  escape  being 
liable  to  many  slanders,  and  therefore  they  have  good  reason 
to  petition  God  to  protect  the  unfeigned  godliness  which 
they  practise  against  poisonous  tongues.  The  following 
meaning  may  not  inappropriately  be  given  to  the  passage : 
O  Lord,  since  I  am  conscious  to  myself,  and  thou  art  a 
witness  of  my  unfeigned  integrity,  do  not  permit  the  unright- 
eous to  sully  my  reputation,  by  laying  unfounded  accusations 
to  my  charge.  But  the  meaning  will  be  more  complete,  if 
we  read  it  as  forming  one  continued  sentence :  O  God, 
permit  not  the  ungodly  to  mock  me  for  endeavouring  to  keep 
thy  law.  For  this  impiety  has  been  rampant  in  the  world  even 
from  the  beginning,  that  the  sincerity  of  God's  worshippers 
has  been  matter  of  reproach  and  derision  ;  even  as,  at  this 
day,  the  same  reproaches  are  still  cast  upon  God's  children, 
as  if  not  satisfied  with  the  common  mode  of  living,  they 
aspired  being  wiser  than  others.  That  which  was  spoken  by 
Isaiah  must  now  be  accomplished,  "Behold  I  and  my  children, 
whom  thou  hast  given  me  to  be  for  a  sign  ;"  so  that  God's 
children,  with  Chi'ist  their  head,  are,  among  the  profane,  as 
persons  to  be  wondered  at.  Accordingly,  Peter  testifies  that 
they  charge  us  with  madness  for  not  following  their  ways, 
(1  Pet.  iv.4 ;)  and  as  this  reproach — the  becoming  the  subjects 
of  ridicule  on  account  of  their  unfeigned  affection  for  God's 
law — tends  to  the  dishonour  of  his  name,  the  prophet  very 
justly  demands  the  suppression  of  all  these  taunts ;   and 


PSALM  CXIX.      THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  417 

Isaiah  also,  by  his  own  example,  directs  us  to  flee  to  this 
refuge,  because,  although  the  wicked  may  arrogantly  pour  out 
their  blasphemies  on  the  earth,  yet  God  sitteth  in  heaven  as 
our  judge. 

In  the  following  verse,  he  states  more  plainly  that  it  was  not 
in  vain  he  besought  God  to  vindicate  him  from  such  calumnies ; 
for  he  was  held  in  derision,  not  only  by  the  common  people, 
and  by  the  most  abandoned  of  mankind,  but  also  by  the  chief 
men,  who  sat  as  judges.  The  term,  to  sit,  imports  that  they 
had  spoken  injuriously  and  unjustly  of  him,  not  merely  in 
their  houses  and  at  their  tables,  but  publicly  and  on  the 
very  judgment-seat,  where  it  behoved  them  to  execute  jus- 
tice, and  render  to  every  one  his  due.  The  particle  DJl?  gani, 
which  he  employs,  and  which  signifies  also  or  even,  contains  an 
implied  contrast  between  the  secret  whisperings  of  the  com- 
mon people,  and  the  imperious  decisions  of  these  imperious 
men,  enhancing  still  more  the  baseness  of  their  conduct. 
Nevertheless,  in  the  midst  of  all  this  he  stedfastly  persevered 
in  following  after  godliness.  Satan  was  assailing  him  with  this 
device  in  order  to  drive  him  to  despair,  but  he  tells  us  that 
he  sought  a  remedy  from  it  in  meditation  on  the  law  of  God. 
We  are  here  taught,  that  it  is  not  unusual  for  earthly  judges 
to  oppress  God's  servants,  and  make  a  mock  of  their  piety.  If 
David  could  not  escape  this  reproach,  why  should  we,  in 
these  times,  expect  to  do  so  ?  Let  us  further  learn,  that 
there  is  nothing  more  perverse  than  to  place  dependence 
upon  the  judgments  of  men,  because,  in  doing  so,  we  must, 
of  necessity,  constantly  be  in  a  state  of  vacillation.  Let  us 
therefore  rest  satisfied  with  the  approbation  of  God,  though 
men  causelessly  defame  us — not  only  men  of  low  degree,  but 
also  the  very  judges  themselves,  from  whom  the  utmost 
impartiality  might  be  expected. 

24.  Also  thy  testimonies  are  my  delight.  The  particle  Qjl, 
gam,  connects  this  with  the  preceding  verse.  To  adhere 
unflinchingly  to  our  purpose,  when  the  world  takes  up  an 
unjust  opinion  of  us,  and,  at  the  same  time,  constantly  to 
meditate  on  God's  law,  is  an  example  of  Christian  fortitude 
seldom  to  be  met  with.  The  prophet  now  informs  us  how 
VOL.  IV.  2  D 


418  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

he  overcame  tliis  temptation.  Thy  testimonies,  says  he,  are 
my  delight :  "  Altliough  the  cruel  injustice  of  men,  in  charging 
me  falsely,  grieves  and  annoys  me,  yet  the  pleasurable  delight 
which  I  take  in  thy  law  is  a  sufficient  recompense  for  it  all." 
He  adds,  that  God's  testimonies  are  his  counsellors,  by  which 
we  are  to  understand  he  did  not  rely  on  his  own  judgment 
simply,  but  took  counsel  from  the  word  of  God.  This  point 
ought  to  be  carefully  considered,  inasmuch  as  we  see  how 
blind  affection  predominates  in  directing  the  lives  of  men. 
Whence  does  the  avaricious  man  ask  counsel,  but  from  the 
erroneous  principle  which  he  has  assumed,  that  riches  are 
superior  to  every  thing  ?  Why  does  the  ambitious  man 
aspire  after  nothing  so  much  as  power,  but  because  he 
regards  nothing  equal  to  the  holding  of  honourable  rank  in 
the  world  ?  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  men  are  so 
grievously  misled,  seeing  they  give  themselves  up  to  the 
direction  of  such  evil  counsellors.  Guided  by  the  word  of 
God,  and  prudently  yielding  obedience  to  its  dictates,  there 
will  then  be  no  inlet  to  the  deceits  of  our  flesh,  and  to  the 
delusions  of  the  world,  and  we  will  stand  invincible  against 
all  the  assaults  of  temptation. 

T  25.  My  soul  cleaveth  to  the  dust:   quicken  me  according  to  thy 

word. 
*1  26.  /  have  declared  my  ways,  and  thou  didst  answer  me :  teach  me 

thy  statutes. 
T  27.  Make  me  to  understand  the  way  of  thy  iwecepts  :  and  I  ivill 

meditate  on  thy  wonderful  icorhs. 
T  28.  My  soid^  droppeth  away  for  grief  :^  raise  me  up  according  to 

thy  ivord. 

1  My  soul  may  here  be  considered  equivalent  to  I  myself.  In  Jcr. 
li.  14,  by  my  sold  is  rendered,  in  our  Englisli  translation,  by  mijself. 

2  "  Mon  ame  s'escoule  goutte  a  goutte." — Fr.  "  Floweth  drop  by 
drop."  Walford,  Avho  translates  "  is  boAved  down,"  considers  Calvin's 
translation  objectionable,  as  it  does  not  correspond  with  the  prayer  in 
the  succeeding  sentence.  Raise  me  up  according  to  thy  word.  "  The 
Vulgar  translation  of  this  clause,"  says  he,  "  '  my  soul  melteth,'  or,  as 
other  intei-preters  think,  '  my  soul  is  dissolved  into  tears,'  appears  to  be 
inadmissible,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  next  clause.  Dathe,  following 
Driessenius,  Knapp,  and  Seiler,  explains  it,  as  is  here  done,  by  'is  bowed 
down,'  a  sense  which  the  word  F|^-i  has  in  the  Arabic  use  of  it,  and 
which  certainly  agrees  with  the  connection  much  better  than  that  of 
weeping  or  dissolving.'' 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  419 

T  29.  Take  away  from  me  the  loay  of  falsehood :  and  grant  tome 

the  favour  of  thy  law. 
T  30.  I  have  chosen  the  way  of  truth:  and  I  have  set  thy  judgments 

before  me. 
T  31.  /  have  cleaved  to  thy  testimonies:  0  Jehovah!  let  me  not  be 

ashamed. 
T  32.  /  will  run  the  way  of  thy  commandments,  xohen  thou  shalt  have 

enlarged  my  heart. 

25.  My  soul  cleaveth  to  the  dust.^  He  means  that  he  had  no 
more  hope  of  life  than  if  he  had  been  shut  up  in  the  tomb ; 
and  this  must  be  carefully  attended  to,  that  we  may  not 
become  impatient  and  grieved,  whenever  it  may  please  God 
to  make  us  endure  various  kinds  of  death.  And,  by  his  own 
example,  he  instructs  us,  when  death  stares  us  in  the  face, 
and  all  hope  of  escape  falls,  to  present  our  petitions  to  God, 
in  whose  hand,  as  we  have  elsewhere  seen,  are  the  issues  of 
death,  and  whose  peculiar  prerogative  it  is  to  restore  life  to 
those  that  are  dead,  (Ps.  Ixviii.  21.)  As  the  combat  is  hard, 
he  betakes  himself  to  the  promises  of  God,  and  invites  others 
to  do  the  same.  The  expression,  according  to  thy  icord,^  is 
an  acknowledgment,  that  should  he  depart  from  God's  word, 
no  hope  would  be  left  for  him ;  but  as  God  has  affirmed  that 
the  life  of  the  faithful  is  in  his  hand,  and  under  his  protection, 
shut  up  as  he  was  in  the  grave,  he  yet  comforted  himself 
with  the  expectation  of  life. 

26.  I  have  declared  my  toays.  In  the  first  part  of  this  verse 
he  affirms  he  had  prayed  sincerely,  and  had  not  imitated  the 
proud,  who,  trusting  to  their  own  wisdom,  fortitude,  and 
opulence,  make  not  God  their  refuge.     That  man  is  said  to 


'  The  original  word  for  my  soul  might  here,  as  in  verse  28,  be  translated  / 
myself  or  my  life^  and  then,  cleaving  to  the  dust  may  imply  an  apprehension 
of  apjiroachiug  death  ;  and  this  agrees  best  with  the  petition.  "  By 
dust  is  here  probably  meant  the  sepulchre  or  grave,  as  in  Ps.  xxii.  15, 
29,  so  that  the  Psalmist  is  to  be  imderstood  to  say,  '  The  dangers  which 
surround  me  are  such  as  threaten  my  death  ;'  and  he  immediately  adds, 
'  Kevive  me  according  to  thy  word,'  i.  e..  Make  me  glad  by  delivering 
me  from  these  perils,  in  agreement  with  the  promises  which  thou  hast 
given  me." — Walford. 

-  Arnobius  and  Augustine  interpret  thy  word  as  signifying,  in  this 
place,  thy  promise.     See  verse  28,  and  Ps.  xliv.  25. 


420  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

declare  hw  ways  to  God,  wlio  presumes  neither  to  attempt 
nor  undertake  any  thing  unless  with  His  assistance,  and, 
depending  wholly  on  His  providence,  commits  all  his  plans 
to  His  sovereign  pleasure,  and  centres  all  his  affections  in 
Him ;  doing  all  this  honestly,  and  not  as  the  hypocrites,  who 
profess  one  thing  with  their  lips,  and  conceal  another  within 
their  hearts.  He  adds,  that  he  was  heard,  which  was  of 
great  importance  in  making  him  cherish  good  hope  for  the 
future. 

In  the  second  part  of  the  verse  he  solemnly  declares,  that 
he  holds  nothing  more  dear  than  the  acquiring  of  a  true  un- 
derstanding of  the  laAv.  There  are  not  a  few  who  make 
known  their  desires  unto  God,  but  then  they  would  that  he 
would  yield  to  their  extravagant  passions.  And,  therefore, 
the  prophet  affirms  that  he  desires  nothing  more  than  to  he  well 
instructed  in  God^s  statutes.  This  statement  is  strengthened 
by  the  next  verse,  in  which  he  once  more  asks  the  knowledge 
of  these  to  be  communicated  to  him.  In  both  passages  it  must 
be  carefully  observed,  that  with  the  law  of  God  set  before 
us,  we  will  reap  little  benefit  from  merely  perusing  it,  if  we 
have  not  his  Spirit  as  our  internal  teacher. 

Some  expositors  wdll  have  the  word  which  I  have  trans- 
lated, /  will  meditate,  to  be,  /  will  entreat  or  argue,  and  thus 
the  Hebrew  term  TW^y  shuach,  is  referred  both  to  the  words 
and  thoughts.  The  latter  meaning  is  most  in  accordance  with 
the  scope  of  the  passage.  I  take  the  unport  of  the  prophet's 
words  to  be  this :  — That  I  may  meditate  upon  thy  won- 
drous works,  make  me  to  understand  thy  commandments. 
We  will  have  no  relish  for  the  law  of  God  until  he  sanctify 
our  minds,  and  render  them  susceptible  of  tasting  heavenly 
wisdom.  And  from  this  disrelish  springs  indifference,  so 
that  it  is  a  grievous  thing  for  the  world  to  give  a  respectful 
attention  to  the  law  of  God,  having  no  savour  for  the  ad- 
mirable wisdom  contained  in  it.  With  great  propriety, 
therefore,  does  the  prophet  pray  that  this  way  may  be  opened 
to  him  by  the  gift  of  knowledge.  From  these  words  we  are 
instructed,  that  in  proportion  to  the  spirit  of  knowledge 
given  to  us,  our  regard  for  the  law  of  God,  and  our  delight 
in  meditating  on  it,  ought  to  increase. 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  421 

28.  My  soul  droppetli  away  for  grief.  As  a  little  before  he 
said  tliat  his  soul  cleaved  to  the  dust,  so  now,  almost  in  the 
same  manner,  he  complains  that  it  melted  away  with  grief. 
Some  are  of  opinion  that  he  alludes  to  tears,  as  if  he  had  said 
that  his  soul  was  dissolved  in  tears.  But  the  simpler  meaning 
is,  that  his  strength  was  poured  out  like  water.  The  verb  is 
in  the  future  tense,  yet  it  denotes  a  continued  action.  The 
prophet  assures  himself  of  a  remedy  for  this  his  extreme 
sorrow,  provided  God  stretch  out  his  hand  towards  him. 
Formerly,  when  almost  lifeless,  he  entertained  the  expecta- 
tion of  a  revival  through  the  grace  of  God  ;  now  also,  by  the 
same  means,  he  cherishes  the  hope  of  being  restored  to  reno- 
vated and  complete  vigour,  notwithstanding  he  was  nearly 
consumed.  He  repeats  the  expression,  according  to  thy  wordy 
because,  apart  from  his  word,  God's  power  would  afford  us 
little  comfort.  But  when  he  comes  to  our  aid,  even  should  our 
courage  and  strength  fail,  his  promise  is  abundantly  effica- 
cious to  fortify  us. 

29.  Take  away  from  me  the  way  of  falsehood.  Knowing 
how  prone  the  nature  of  man  is  to  vanity  and  falsehood,  he 
first  asks  the  sanctification  of  his  thoughts,  lest,  being  en- 
tangled by  the  snares  of  Satan,  he  fall  into  error.  Next,  that 
he  may  be  kept  from  falsehood,  he  prays  to  be  fortified  with 
the  doctrine  of  the  law.  The  second  clause  of  the  verse  is 
interpreted  variously.  Some  render  it,  make  thy  law  pleasant 
to  me.  And  as  the  law  is  disagreeable  to  the  flesh,  which  it 
subdues  and  keeps  under,  there  is  good  cause  why  God 
should  be  asked  to  render  it  acceptable  and  pleasant  to  us. 
Some  expound  it,  have  mercy  upon  me  according  to  thy  law, 
as  if  the  prophet  should  draw  pity  from  the  fountain-head 
itself,  because  God  in  his  law  promised  it  to  the  faithful. 
Both  of  these  meanings  appear  to  me  forced  ;  and,  therefore, 
I  am  more  disposed  to  adopt  another,  freely  grant  to  me  thy 
laiv.  The  original  term  '•^in,  channeni,  cannot  be  translated 
otherwise  in  Latin  than,  gratify  thou  me ;  an  uncouth  and 
barbarous  expression  I  admit,  yet  that  will  give  me  little 
concern,   provided  my  readers   comprehend  the   prophet's 


422  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

meaning.^      The   amount   is,  that  being   full  of  blindness, 
nothing  is  more  easy  than  for  us  to  be  greatly  deceived  by 
error.     And,  therefore,  unless  God  teach  us  by  the  Spirit  of 
wisdom,  we  will  presently  be  hurried  away  into  various  errors. 
The  means  of  our  being  preserved  from  error  are  stated  to 
consist  in  his  instructing  us  in  his  law.     He  makes  use  of 
the  term  to  gratify.     "  It  is  indeed  an  incomparable  kindness 
that  men  are  directed  by  thy  law,  but  in  consequence  of  thy 
kindness  being  unmerited,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  asking  of 
thee  to  admit  me  as  a  participator  of  this  thy  kindness."     If 
the  prophet,  who  for  some  time  previous  served  God,  in  now 
aspiring  after  farther  attainments,  does  not  ask  for  a  larger 
measure  of  grace  to  be  communicated  to  him  meritoriously, 
but  confesses  it  to  be  the  free  gift  of  God,  then  that  impious 
tenet,  which  obtains  in  the  papacy,  that  an  increase  of  grace 
is  awarded  to  merit  as  deserving  of  it,  must  fall  to   the 
ground. 

30.  I  have  chosen  the  way  of  truth.  In  this  and  the  follow- 
ing verse  he  affirms  that  he  was  so  disposed  as  to  desire 
nothing  more  than  to  follow  righteousness  and  truth.  It  is, 
therefore,  with  great  propriety  he  employs  the  term  to  choose. 
The  old  adage,  that  man's  life  is  as  it  were  at  the  point  where 
two  ways  meet,  refers  not  simply  to  the  general  tenor  of 
human  life,  but  to  every  particular  action  of  it.  For  no 
sooner  do  we  undertake  any  thing,  no  matter  how  small, 
than  we  are  grievously  perplexed,  and  as  if  hurried  off  by  a 
tempest,  are  confounded  by  conflicting  counsels.  Hence  the 
prophet  declares,  that  in  order  constantly  to  pursue  the  right 
path,  he  had  resolved  and  fully  determined  not  to  relinquish 
the  truth.  And  thus  he  intimates  that  he  was  not  entirely 
exempted  from  temptations,  yet  that  he  had  surmounted 
them  by  giving  himself  up  to  the  conscientious  observance 
of  the  law. 

The  last  clause  of  the  verse,  I  have  set  thy  judgments  before 
me,  relates  to  the  same  subject.  There  would  be  no  fixed 
choice  on  the  part  of  the  faithful,  unless  they  steadily  con- 

1  "  Ou  ponn-oit  dire  en  francois,  Donne  moy  gi-atuitement." — Fr. 
"  One  can  say  in  French,  Give  me  gi'atiiitously." 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  423 

templated  the  law,  and  did  not  suffer  their  eyes  to  wander  to 
and  fro.  In  the  subsequent  verse  he  not  only  asserts  his 
entertaining  this  holy  affection  for  the  law,  but  also  combines 
it  with  prayer,  that  he  might  not  become  ashamed  and  en- 
feebled under  the  derision  of  the  ungodly,  while  he  gave  him- 
self wholly  to  the  law  of  God.  Here  he  employs  the  same 
term  as  formerly,  when  he  said  his  soul  cleaved  to  the  dust, 
and,  in  doing  so,  affirms  he  had  so  firmly  taken  hold  of  God's 
law,  that  he  cannot  be  separated  from  it.  From  his  express- 
ing a  fear  lest  he  might  be  put  to  shame  or  overwhelmed 
with  reproach,  we  learn  that  the  more  sincerely  a  man  sur- 
renders himself  to  God,  the  more  will  he  be  assailed  by  the 
tongues  of  the  vile  and  the  venomous. 

32.  I  will  run  the  way  of  thy  commandments.  The  mean- 
ing of  the  prophet  is,  that  when  God  shall  inspire  him  with 
love  for  his  law,  he  will  be  vigorous  and  ready,  nay,  even 
steady,  so  as  not  to  faint  in  the  middle  of  his  course.  His 
words  contain  an  implied  admission  of  the  supineness  and 
inability  of  men  to  make  any  advancement  in  well-doing 
until  God  enlarge  their  hearts.  No  sooner  does  God  expand 
their  hearts,  than  they  are  fitted  not  only  for  walking,  but  also 
for  running  in  the  way  of  his  commandments.  He  reminds 
us  that  the  proper  observance  of  the  law  consists  not  merely 
in  external  works, — that  it  demands  willing  obedience,  so  that 
the  heart  must,  to  some  extent,  and  in  some  way,  enlarge  itself. 
Not  that  it  has  the  self-determining  power  of  doing  this,  but 
when  once  its  hardness  and  obstinacy  are  subdued,  it  moves 
freely  without  being  any  longer  contracted  by  its  own  nar- 
rowness. Finally,  this  passage  tells  us,  when  God  has  once 
enlarged  our  hearts,  there  will  be  no  lack  of  power,  because, 
along  with  proper  affection,  he  will  furnish  ability,  so  that 
our  feet  will  be  ready  to  run. 

n  33.  Teach  me,  0  Jehovah !  the  way  of  thy  statutes  ;  and  I  will 

keep  it  unto  the  end. 
n  34.  Make  me  to  understand,  and  I  icill  observe  thy  law;  and 

keep  it  with  my  whole  heart, 
n  35.  Direct  me  in  the  way  of  thy  statutes ;  for  in  it  does  my 

heart  take  pleasure. 


424  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

n  36.  Incline  my  heart  to  thy  testimonies,  and  not  unto  covetous- 

ness. 
n  37.  Turn  away  mine  eyes  from  seeing  vanity ;  in  thy  way 

quicken  me. 
n  38.   Confirm  thy  word  to  thy  servant,  who  is  devoted  to  thy 

fear. 
n  39.  Remove  from  me  the  reproach  of  which  I  am  afraid :  for 

thy  judgments  are  good. 
n  40.  Lo  !  I  have  a  desire  to  thy  commandments :  quicken  me  in 

thy  righteousness. 

33.  Teach  me,  O  Jehovah!  the  iva^  of  thT/ statutes.  He  again 
presents  the  same  prayer  which  he  has  already  frequently 
done  in  this  psalm,  it  being  of  the  last  importance  for  us  to 
know  that  the  main  thing  in  our  life  consists  in  having  God 
for  our  governor.  The  majority  of  mankind  think  of  any- 
thing rather  than  this,  as  that  which  they  ought  to  ask  from 
God.  The  Holy  Spirit,  therefore,  often  inculcates  this 
desire,  and  we  ought  always  to  keep  it  in  mind,  that  not 
only  the  unexperienced  and  unlearned,  but  those  who  have 
made  great  progress,  may  not  cease  to  aspire  after  farther 
advancement.  And  as  the  Spirit  of  understanding  comes 
from  above,  they  should  seek  to  be  guided  by  his  invisible 
agency  to  the  proper  knowledge  of  the  law. 

In  the  second  clause  of  the  verse  the  prophet  points  out 
the  particular  kind  of  doctrine  of  which  he  treats,  thai  which 
virtually  and  effectually  tends  to  renovate  the  heart  of  man. 
Interpreters  explain  the  word  ^p^j  ekeb,  two  ways.  Some 
would  have  it  to  denote  wages  or  reward,  and  then  the 
Psalmist's  meaning  would  be :  After  I  have  been  well  in- 
structed, then  shall  I  know  that  those  who  apply  themselves 
to  the  observance  of  thy  law  will  not  labour  in  vain ;  and, 
therefore,  for  the  sake  of  the  reward,  I  will  keep  thy  com- 
mandments, persuaded  that  thou  wilt  never  disajopoint  thy 
servants.  Others  render  it,  until  the  end,  because  those 
whom  God  teaches  he  teaches  successfully,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  strengthens  them  for  prosecuting  their  journey  without 
feeling  lassitude  or  languor  by  the  way,  and  enables  them  to 
persevere  with  constancy  until  they  arrive  at  the  termination 
of  their  course.     I  am  far  from  supposing  that  he  has  no 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  425 

reference  to  the  grace  of  perseverance.  Let  my  readers, 
however,  consider  whether  this  verse  may  not  be  taken 
simply  as  the  words  stand  in  the  original.  The  preposition 
until  is  not  expressed  by  the  prophet,  who  merely  says,  / 
will  keep  the  end.  "  Lord,  I  have  need  of  constant  teaching, 
that  I  may  not  fall  short  of,  but  keep  my  eye  continually 
upon  my  mark ;  for  thou  commandest  me  to  run  in  thy 
course,  on  condition  that  death  alone  should  be  the  goal. 
Unless  thou  teach  me  daily,  this  perseverance  will  not  be 
found  in  me.  But  if  thou  guide  me,  I  will  be  constantly 
upon  the  watch,  and  will  never  turn  away  my  eyes  from  my 
end,  or  aim."  In  my  version  I  have  inserted  the  commonly 
received  reading. 

34.  Make  me  to  understand.  We  are  here  informed  that 
true  wisdom  consists  in  being  wise  according  to  the  laAV  of 
God,  that  it  may  preserve  us  in  fear  and  obedience  to  him. 
In  asking  God  to  confer  this  wisdom  upon  him,  he  owns  that 
men,  in  consequence  of  their  natural  blindness,  aim  at  any- 
thing rather  than  this.  And,  indeed,  it  is  quite  foreign  to 
the  notions  usually  prevalent  among  mankind  to  strain  every 
nerve  to  keep  God's  law.  The  world  esteems  as  wise  those 
only  who  look  well  to  their  own  interests,  are  acute  and  poli- 
tic in  temporal  matters,  and  who  even  excel  in  the  art  of 
beguiling  the  simple.  In  opposition  to  such  a  sentiment,  the 
prophet  pronounces  men  to  be  void  of  true  understanding 
as  long  as  the  fear  of  God  does  not  predominate  among  them. 
For  himself  he  asks  no  other  prudence  than  the  surrendering 
of  himself  entirely  to  God's  direction.  At  the  same  time,  he 
acknowledges  this  to  be  the  special  gift  of  God,  which  none 
can  procure  by  his  own  power  or  policy  ;  for  were  each  ade- 
quate to  be  his  own  teacher  in  this  matter,  then  this  petition 
would  be  superfluous. 

Moreover,  as  the  observance  of  the  law  is  no  common  oc- 
currence, he  employs  two  terms  in  reference  to  it.  "  Lord,  it 
is  a  high  and  hard  thing  to  keep  thy  law  strictly  as  it  ought, 
which  demands  from  us  purity  beyond  what  we  are  able  to 
attain  ;  yet,  depending  on  the  heavenly  illumination  of  thy 
Spirit,  I  will  not  cease  my  endeavours  to  keep  it."     The  fol- 


426  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

lowing,  however,  renders  the  meaning  more  clear :  '*  Give 
me  understanding  to  keep  and  observe  thy  law  with  my 
whole  heart."  Mention  is  made  of  the  whole  hearty  to  tell  us 
how  far  they  are  from  the  righteousness  of  the  law  who  obey 
it  only  in  the  letter,  doing  nothing  deserving  of  blame  in  the 
sight  of  men.  God  puts  a  restraint  principally  on  the  heart, 
that  genuine  uprightness  may  flourish  there,  whose  fruits 
may  afterwards  appear  in  the  life.  This  spiritual  observance 
of  the  law  is  a  most  convincing  evidence  of  the  necessity  of 
being  divinely  prepared  and  formed  for  it. 

35.  Direct  me  in  the  -path.  The  frequent  repetition  of  this 
phraseology  by  the  prophet  is  not  to  be  considered  as  redundant. 
Seeing  that  the  end  of  man's  existence  ought  to  consist  in  pro- 
fitino-  in  God's  school,  we  nevertheless  perceive  how  the  world 
distracts  him  by  its  allui'ements,  and  how  he  also  forms  for  him- 
self a  thousand  avocations  calculated  to  withdraw  his  thoughts 
from  the  main  business  of  his  life.  The  next  clause  of  the 
verse,  in  it  I  take  pleasure,  must  be  carefully  attended  to. 
For  it  is  an  indication  of  rare  excellence  when  a  person  so 
arranges  his  sentiments  and  affections  as  to  renounce  all  the 
enticements  pleasant  to  the  flesh,  and  take  delight  in  nothing 
so  much  as  in  the  service  of  God.  The  prophet  had  already 
attained  to  this  virtue,  but  he  still  perceives  that  he  is  not 
yet  perfect.  Therefore,  that  his  desire  may  be  fully  accom- 
plished, he  solicits  fresh  assistance  from  God,  according  to  the 
saying  of  Paul,  "  It  is  God  that  worketh  in  you,  both  to  will 
and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure,"  (Phil.  ii.  13.)  Let  it  be 
remembered,  that  he  does  not  boast  of  the  inherent  working 
of  his  nature,  but  sets  forth  the  grace  he  has  received,  that 
God  may  complete  the  work  he  has  begun.  "  Lord,  thou 
hast  given  me  courage,  grant  me  also  strength."  Hence, 
in  the  term  pleasure  there  is  an  implied  opposition  to  the 
lusts  of  the  flesh,  which  keep  the  hearts  of  mankind  fet- 
tered by  their  enticements. 

36.  Incline  my  heart.  In  this  verse  he  confesses  the  human 
heart  to  be  so  far  from  yielding  to  the  justice  of  God,  that  it 
is  more  inclined  to  follow  an  opposite  course.     Were  we 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  427 

naturally  and  sj)ontaneously  inclined  to  the  righteousness  of 
the  law,  there  would  be  no  occasion  for  the  petition  of  the 
Psalmist,  Incline  my  heart.  It  remains,  therefore,  that  our 
hearts  are  full  of  siuful  thoughts,  and  wholly  rebellious,  until 
God  by  his  grace  change  them.  This  confession  on  the  part 
of  the  prophet  must  not  be  overlooked.  That  the  natural  cor- 
ruption of  man  is  so  great,  that  he  seeks  for  any  thing  rather 
than  what  is  right,  until  he  be  turned  by  the  power  of  God 
to  new  obedience,  and  thus  begin  to  be  inclined  to  that  which 
is  good. 

In  the  second  clause  of  the  verse  the  prophet  points  to 
those  impediments  which  prevent  mankind  from  attaining  to 
the  desire  of  righteousness ;  their  being  inclined  to  covetous- 
ness.  By  a  figure  of  speech,^  in  which  a  part  is  put  for  the 
whole,  the  species  is  put  for  the  genus.  The  Hebrew  term 
^^1)  hatsang,  signifies  to  use  violence,  or  to  covety  or  to  defraud ; 
but  covetousness  is  most  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the 
passage,  provided  we  admit  the  prophet  to  have  selected  this 
species,  "  the  root  of  all  evils,"  to  demonstrate  that  nothing  is 
more  opposed  to  the  righteousness  of  God,  (1  Tim.  vi.  10.) 
We  are  here  instructed  generally,  that  we  are  so  much  under 
the  influence  of  perverse  and  vicious  affections,  our  hearts 
abhor  the  study  of  God's  law,  until  God  inspire  us  with  the 
desire  for  that  which  is  good. 

37.  Turn  away  mine  eyes.  By  these  words  we  are  taught 
that  all  our  senses  are  so  filled  with  vanity,  that,  until  refined 
and  rectified,  their  alienation  from  the  pursuit  of  righteousness 
is  no  matter  of  surprise.  In  the  former  verse  he  informed  us 
of  the  reigning  of  that  depravity  in  the  hearts  of  men,  which 
he  now  says  reaches  also  to  the  outward  senses.  "  The 
disease  of  covetousness  not  only  lurks  in  our  hearts,  but 
spreads  over  every  part,  so  that  neither  eyes,  ears,  feet,  nor 
hands,  have  escaped  its  baneful  influence  ;  in  a  word,  nothino- 
is  exempted  from  corruption."  And  we  know,  assuredly, 
that  the  guilt  of  original  sin  is  not  confined  to  one  faculty  of 
man  only ;  it  pervades  his  whole  constitution.  If  our  eyes 
must  be  turned  away  from  vanity  by  the  special  grace  of 

'  Per  Synecdocheu. 


428  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

God,  it  follows,  that,  as  soon  as  they  are  opened,  they  are 
eagerly  set  on  the  impostures  of  Satan,  by  which  they  are 
beset  on  all  sides.  If  Satan  only  laid  snares  for  us,  and 
were  we  possessed  of  sufficient  prudence  to  guard  against  his 
deceits,  it  could  not,  with  propriety,  be  said  that  God  turned 
away  our  eyes  from  vanity ;  but,  as  they  are  naturally  set 
upon  sinful  allm'ements,  there  is  need  for  their  being  with- 
drawn from  them.  As  often,  then,  as  we  open  our  eyes,  we 
must  not  forget  that  two  gates  are  opened  for  the  devil  to 
enter  our  hearts,  unless  God  guard  us  by  his  Holy  Spirit. 
The  remarks  which  he  makes,  in  reference  to  the  eyes,  are 
equally  applicable  to  the  other  senses,  inasmuch  as  he  again 
employs  that  figure  of  speech,  by  which  a  part  is  taken  for 
the  whole. 

The  other  clause  of  the  verse  corresponds  weU  with  the 
meaning  here  given.  Others  may  propose  different  interpre- 
tations ;  I  think,  however,  the  following  is  the  most  natural : 
Lord,  as  the  whole  life  of  mankind  is  accursed,  so  long  as 
they  employ  their  powers  in  committing  sin,  grant  that  the 
power  which  I  possess  may  aspire  after  nothing  except  the 
righteousness  which  thou  appointest  us.  The  better  to 
manifest  this,  we  must  lay  it  down  as  a  first  principle,  that 
seeing,  hearing,  walking,  and  feeling,  are  God's  precious 
gifts ;  that  our  understandings  and  will,  with  which  we  are 
furnished,  are  a  still  more  valuable  gift ;  and,  after  all,  there 
is  no  look  of  the  eyes,  no  motion  of  the  senses,  no  thought  of 
the  mind,  unmingled  with  vice  and  depravity.  Such  being 
the  case,  the  prophet,  with  good  reason,  surrenders  himself 
entirely  to  God,  for  the  mortification  of  the  flesh,  that  he 
might  begin  to  live  anew. 

38.  Confirm  thy  word  unto  thy  servant.  Here  we  have 
briefly  set  forth  the  sole  end  and  legitimate  use  of  prayer, 
which  is,  that  we  may  reap  the  fruits  of  God's  promises. 
Whence  it  comes  to  pass,  that  they  commit  sin  who  utter 
vao"ue  and  incoherent  desires.  For  we  perceive  the  prophet 
allows  not  himself  to  petition  or  wish  any  thing  but  what 
God  hath  condescended  to  promise.  And  certainly  their 
presumption  is  great,  who  rush  into  the  presence  of  God 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  429 

witliout  any  call  from  his  word ;  as  if  they  would  make  him 
subservient  to  their  humour  and  caprice.  The  argument  by 
which  the  Psalmist  enforces  his  plea  deserves  to  be  noticed ; 
because  I  am  devoted  to  thy  fear.  The  relative  ^tJ^}«{,  asher,  in 
this  place  bears  the  signification  of  the  causal  conjunction, 
because  or  for.  The  prophet  intimates  that  he  does  not  con- 
tent himself  with  mere  temporal  enjoyments,  as  worldly  men 
do ;  and  that  he  did  not  make  a  preposterous  abuse  of  God's 
promises,  to  secure  the  delights  of  the  flesh,  but  that  he  made 
his  fear  and  reverence  his  aim.  And  truly  the  best  assurance 
which  we  can  have  of  obtaining  our  requests  is  when  these 
and  God's  service  harmonize,  and  our  sole  desire  is  that  he 
may  reign  in  and  over  us. 

39.  Take  away  my  reproach.  It  is  not  certain  to  what 
reproach  he  alludes.  Knowing  that  many  calumniators  were 
on  the  watch  to  find  occasion  for  reviling  him,  should  they 
liappen  to  detect  him  in  any  offence,  it  is  not  without  reason 
he  dreaded  lest  he  might  fall  into  such  disgrace,  and  that  by 
his  own  fault.  Probably  he  might  be  apprehensive  of  some 
other  reproach,  aware  that  wicked  men  shamefully  and  inju- 
riously slander  the  good  generally,  and,  by  their  calumnies, 
distort  and  pervert  their  good  actions.  The  concluding 
clause.  Because  the  judgments  of  God  are  good,  is  the  reason 
why  God  should  put  to  silence  the  mischievous  tongues,  which 
pour  out  the  venom  of  their  malice  without  shame  against  the 
innocent,  who  are  reverently  observing  his  law.  If  any  be  in- 
clined to  view  the  word  reproach  as  directed  against  God  him- 
self, such  an  interpretation  is  by  no  means  objectionable.  That 
the  prophet,  whose  aim  it  was  to  stand  approved  as  to  his  life 
in  God's  sight,  merely  desired,  when  he  appeared  before  his 
tribunal,  not  to  be  judged  as  a  reprobate  man ;  just  as  if, 
with  great  zeal  and  magnanimity,  he  would  despise  all  the 
empty  talk  of  the  men  of  the  world,  provided  he  stood  upright 
in  God's  sight.  Above  all,  it  becomes  holy  men  to  dread 
the  reproach  of  being  suffused  with  shame  at  God's  judgment- 
seat. 

40.  Behold,  I  have  a  desire  to  thy  precepts.     This  is  a  repe- 


430  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

tition  of  what  he  declared  a  little  before,  with  regard  to  his 
pious  affection,  and  his  love  of  righteousness ;  and  that 
nothing  was  wanting  but  God  to  complete  the  work  which 
he  had  commenced.  If  this  interpretation  be  admitted,  then, 
to  he  quickened  in  the  righteousness  of  God^  will  be  tantamount 
to  being  quickened  in  the  way.  The  term  righteousness  is  often 
put  in  this  psalm  for  the  law  of  God,  or  the  rule  of  a  righteous 
life.  This  view  tends  to  make  the  two  parts  of  the  verse 
accord  with  one  another.  "  Lord,  this  is  now  a  remarkable 
kindness  thou  hast  done  me,  in  having  inspired  me  with  a 
holy  desire  to  keep  thy  law ;  one  thing  is  stUl  necessary,  that 
this  same  virtue  pervade  my  whole  life."  But  as  the  word 
righteousness  is  ambiguous,  my  readers  may,  if  they  choose, 
understand  it  thus  :  Restore,  defend,  and  maintain  me  for 
the  sake  of  thy  goodness,  which  thou  art  wont  to  show  to  all 
thy  people.  I  have  already  pointed  out  the  exposition  Avhich 
I  prefer. 

1  41.  And  let  thy  mercies  come  to  me,  0  Jehovah  !  and  thy  salvation, 
according  to  thy  word. 

1  42.  And  I  will  answer  a  word  to  him  who  reproacheth  me,  because 
I  have  trusted  in  thy  word. 

1  43.  And  take  not  the  word  of  truth  too  long  out  of  my  mouth,  be- 
cause I  hope  for  thy  judgments. 

)  44.  And  I  will  keep  thy  law  always,  even  for  ever  and  ever. 

1  45.  And  I  ivill  walk  at  ease ;  ^  because  I  have  sought  thy  statutes. 

1  46.  And  I  will  speak  of  thy  testimonies  before  kings,  and  will  not 
be  ashamed. 

"I  47.  And  I  will  delight  myself  in  thy  commandments,  which  I  have 
loved, 

1  48.  And  I  will  lift  up  my  hands  to  thy  statutes,  which  I  have  loved, 
and  will  meditate  on  thy  precejJts. 

41.  Let  thy  mercies  come  to  me.  There  can  be  no  doubt, 
that,  in  mentioning  the  mercy  of  God  first,  and  afterwards 
his  salvation,  the  Psalmist,  according  to  the  natural  order, 
puts  the  cause  before  the  effect.  By  adopting  this  arrange- 
ment, he  acknowledges  that  there  is  no  salvation  for  him  but 


"  All  large."— Fr. 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  431 

in  the  pure  mercy  of  God.  And  while  he  desires  a  gracious 
salvation,  he,  at  the  same  time,  relies  on  the  promise,  as  we 
have  already  elsewhere  seen. 

In  the  second  verse  he  boasts  that  he  is  furnished  with  the 
best  defence  against  the  calumnies  of  his  enemies,  arising 
from  his  trust  in  the  word  of  God.  We  may  resolve  the 
future  tense  into  the  optative  mood,  as  many  do  :  "  O  Lord, 
since  /  have  trusted  in  thy  word,  grant  that  my  mouth  with 
all  boldness  may  repel  the  slanders  which  they  utter  against 
me,  and  suffer  me  not  to  be  silent  when  they  load  me  with 
unmerited  reproach."  Whichever  of  these  meanings  we 
adopt,  we  are  taught  that  there  will  always  be  evil-speakers, 
who  will  not  cease  to  defame  the  children  of  God,  though 
they  be  entirely  undeserving  of  such  treatment.  It  is  some- 
what dubious  to  what  particular  kind  of  reproach  he  refers ; 
for  the  ungodly  not  only  cover  the  children  of  God  with 
ignominy,  but  also  make  their  faith  the  subject  of  ridicule. 
I  prefer  the  following  interpretation,  because  it  agrees  best 
with  the  context,  and  David  is  here  placing  his  trust  in  God 
in  opposition  to  their  derision.  "  I  shall  have  something  to 
reply  to  the  base  mockery  of  the  enemies  who  injure  me 
without  cause,  in  that  God  never  disappoints  those  who  place 
their  confidence  in  him."  If  any  one  be  inclined  to  consider 
the  passage  as  embracing  both  meanings,  I  offer  no  objection 
to  it.  Besides,  he  does  not  simply  say,  that  he  trusted  in 
God,  but  that  he  also  trusted  in  his  word,  which  is  the  ground 
of  his  trust.  We  must  carefully  attend  to  the  correspondence 
and  mutual  relation  between  the  term  word,  in  the  first  part 
of  the  verse,  and  that  in  the  other.  Were  not  God,  by  his 
Word,  to  furnish  us  with  another  w^ord  for  our  defence,  we 
would  instantly  be  overwhelmed  with  the  insolence  of  our 
enemies.  If,  then,  we  wish  to  be  proof  against  the  attacks  of 
the  world,  the  commencement  and  foundation  of  our  magna- 
nimity is  here  pointed  out  to  us, — our  trusting  in  God's  word, 
guarded  by  which,  the  Spirit  of  God  calls  upon  us  boldly  to 
contemn  the  virulent  blasphemies  of  the  ungodly.  And  to 
qualify  us  for  repelling  such  blasphemies,  he  connects  the 
word  of  hope  with  the  word  of  confession. 


432  COMMENTAKY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

43.  Take  not  the  word  of  truth  too  long  out  of  my  mouth}  It 
may  be  asked,  why  he  demands  rather  to  have  his  tongue 
filled  with,  than  his  heart  fortified  by,  the  word  of  truth ; 
inasmuch  as  the  latter  takes  the  precedence,  both  in  point  of 
order  and  of  excellence.  What  will  it  profit  us  to  be  fluent 
and  eloquent  in  speech,  if  our  hearts  are  destitute  of  faith  ? 
On  the  other  hand,  wherever  there  is  firm  faith,  there,  too, 
speech  will  flow  ultroneously.  My  reply  is,  that  David  was 
not  so  concerned  about  outward  confession  as  not  to  give 
the  preference  to  the  faith  of  the  heart;  but  considering  that 
he  is  making  his  address  to  God,  there  is  nothing  strange  in 
his  making  mention  only  of  the  former,  under  which,  however, 
he  includes  also  the  latter.  "  Lord,  support  not  only  my  heart 
by  faith,  lest  I  be  overwhelmed  with  temptation,  but  grant  me 
also  freedom  of  speech,  that  I  may  fearlessly  sound  forth  thy 
praises  among  men."  We  observe,  when  he  asks  to  be  en- 
dued with  boldness  of  speech,  that  he  begins  with  the  heart. 

It  may  be  farther  inquired  here,  why  he  says  too  long,  just 
as  if  he  were  not  afraid  of  being  deprived  of  the  word  of  truth 
for  a  short  time.  Such  a  supposition  were  most  absurd,  see- 
ing we  must  watch  every  moment  lest  we  be  overtaken  by 
the  enemy,  when  we  are  unarmed  and  powerless.  The  solu- 
tion of  this  difficulty  must  be  drawn  from  our  own  experience ; 
for  in  this,  the  infirmity  of  our  flesh,  it  is  almost  impossible 
but  that,  occasionally,  even  the  stoutest  heart  will  quail  under 
the  violent  assaults  of  Satan.  And  although  their  faith  fails 
not,  yet  it  shakes,  and  they  do  not  find  such  presence  of  mind, 
as  that  there  is  constantly  a  uniform  train  of  speech,  and  a 
prompt  reply  to  the  derisions  of  the  ungodly ;  but,  on  the 
contrary,  they  rather  begin  to  stagger  and  quake  for  a  short 

'  "  O  take  not,  Sfc.  This  verse  seems  to  admit  of  either  of  the  two  fol- 
lowing interpretations  :  '  Sutfer  me  not  to  desist  utterly  from  making  an 
open  profession  of  true  religion  ;  for  I  wait  for  thy  promises  :'  or,  '  Suifer 
me  not  to  be  reproached  with  falsehood,  (for  having  asserted  that  thou 
wouldest  take  vengeance  on  the  wicked,)  because  I  have  looked  for  thy 
judgments,'  i.  e.,  thy  penal  judgments.  Calvin  favours  the  former  inter- 
pretation, the  latter  is  Le  Clerc's." — Cressicell.  Walford,  by  word,  un- 
derstands the  ansAver  that  the  Psalmist  had  to  make  to  the  accusations 
of  his  enemies  :  and  observes,  "  This  answer,  which  asserted  his  inno- 
cency  of  the  crimes  with  which  they  charged  him,  he  declares  to  be  alto- 
gether true  ;  and  he  entreats  that  God,  as  a  judge,  would  not  suifer  him 
to  be  deprived  of  the  benefit  of  that  answer,  but  pronounce  a  righteous 
sentence  between  them." 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  433 

time.  Conscious  of  this  weakness,  which  is  perceptible  in 
all  mankind,  he  accommodates  his  prayer  in  the  following 
manner  :  "  Though  I  am  not  always  prepared  with  that  bold- 
ness of  speech  which  is  desirable,  suffer  me  not  to  continue 
long  silent."  By  this  language  the  prophet  tacitly  admits, 
that  he  had  not  been  so  stedfast  and  bold  as  was  requisite, 
but  that  he  was,  as  it  were,  struck  speechless  by  reason  of 
fear.  Whence  we  may  learn,  that  the  faculty  of  speaking 
freely  is  no  more  in  our  power  than  are  the  affections  of  the 
heart.  As  far,  then,  as  God  directs  our  tongues,  they  are 
prepared  for  ready  utterance ;  but  no  sooner  does  he  with- 
draw the  spirit  of  magnanimity,  than  not  only  our  hearts 
faint,  or  rather  fail,  but  also  our  tongues  become  mute.  The 
cause  of  this  is  subjoined  in  these  words,  ^c^r  I  have  waited  fur 
thy  judgments,  for  so  he  literally  expresses  himself.  From  which 
we  conclude,  iXxsii  judgments  refer  not  merely  to  the  precepts 
of  the  law,  but  also  to  the  promises,  which  constitute  the  true 
foundation  of  our  confidence.  Some  render  it,  /  was  afraid 
of  thy  judgments.,  deriving  the  word  here  employed  from  the 
root  71115  chul ;  which  translation!  am  unable  to  say  whether 
it  be  suitable  or  not.  But  of  this  I  am  certain,  that  to  under- 
stand jMfZ^we?ife  as  equivalent  to  imnishnents,  is  quite  foreign 
to  the  design  of  the  prophet. 

44.  /  will  keep  thy  law  continually.  He  resolves  to  devote 
himself  to  the  study  of  the  law,  not  for  a  short  time  only,  but 
even  to  the  termination  of  his  life.  The  employing  of  three 
synonymous  words,  T'^H)  tamid,  D/I^j  olam,  *]y,  ed,  so  far 
from  being  viewed  as  a  superfluous  accumulation  of  terms, 
contains  an  implied  indication,  that,  unless  the  faithful  make 
a  strenuous  and  steady  opposition,  the  fear  of  God  may  be 
gradually  effaced  from  their  minds  by  various  temptations, 
and  they  will  lose  the  affection  which  they  bear  for  the  law. 
In  order,  therefore,  that  he  may  be  the  better  prepared  for 
meeting  these  trials,  he  alludes  to  the  difficulty  and  danger 
connected  with  them. 

The  next  verse  may  be  read  as  expressing  a  desire  that  he 
might  walk.  Be  this  as  it  may,  we  retain  the  commonly 
received  reading.  That  David  exults  at  the  thought  of  his 
VOL.  IV.  2  E 


434  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

path  becoming  plain  and  easy,  in  consequence  of  his  seeking 
diligently  after  God's  precepts  ;  that  is,  to  walk  at  ease.  The 
ways  of  men  are  frequently  rugged  and  obstructed,  because 
they  themselves  lay  various  stumblingblocks  in  them,  or  en- 
tangle themselves'  in  many  inextricable  windings.  Hence  it 
comes  to  pass,  that  while  none  will  submit  to  the  word  of 
God  as  their  rule,  every  man  endures  the  punishment  legiti- 
mately due  to  such  arrogance.  On  all  sides  God  lays  snares 
for  us,  puts  pitfalls  in  our  way,  causes  us  to  fall  in  with  paths 
broken  and  rugged,  and  at  last  shuts  us  up  in  a  bottomless 
pit :  and  by  how  much  the  more  politic  a  man  is,  by  so  much 
the  more  will  he  meet  with  obstructions  in  his  path. 

This  verse  teaches  us  that,  if  any  man  yield  implicit  obe- 
dience to  God,  he  will  receive  this  as  his  reward,  that  he 
shall  walk  with  a  calm  and  composed  mind ;  and  should  he 
meet  with  difficulties,  he  will  find  the  means  of  surmounting 
them.  The  faithful,  however  readily  and  submissively  they 
give  themselves  up  to  God,  may  happen  to  find  themselves 
involved  in  perplexity ;  nevertheless,  the  end  contemplated 
by  Paul  is  accomplished,  that  though  they  be  in  trouble  and 
toil,  yet  they  do  not  continue  in  irremediable  distress,  because 
it  is  the  duty  (so  to  speak)  of  God  to  point  out  a  way  for 
them  where  there  seems  to  be  no  way,  (2  Cor.  iv.  8.)  More- 
over, when  grievously  oppressed,  even  then  they  walk  at  ease, 
for  they  commit  the  doubtful  issue  of  events  to  God  in  such 
a  manner,  that,  having  him  for  their  guide,  they  have  no 
doubt  they  will  come  out  boldly  from  the  depths  of  distress. 

46.  And  I  ivill  speak  of  thy  testimonies  before  kings}  In 
these  words  he  seems  to  believe  that  he  is  in  possession  of 
that  which  he  formerly  prayed  for.  Having  said,  "  Take  not 
away  the  word  out  of  my  mouth,"  and  now,   as  if  he  had 


^  "  Dr  Delaney  supposes  that  this  is  spoken  in  reference  to  Achish, 
king  of  Gath,  whom  David  had  instructed  in  the  Jewish  religion :  but 
"Nve  have  ah-eady  seen  that  it  is  most  likely  that  the  psalm  was  compiled 
under  the  Babylonish  captivity.  But  the  Avords  may,  with  more  pro- 
priety, be  referred  to  the  case  of  Daniel,  and  other  bold  and  faithful 
Israelites,  who  spoke  courageously  before  Nebuchadnezzar,  Belshazzar, 
and  Darius.  See  the  Books  of  Daniel,  Ezra,  and  Nchemiah." — Dr  Adam 
Clarke. 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  435 

obtained  what  he  requested,  he  rises  up,  and  maintains  he 
will  not  be  dumb,  even  were  he  called  upon  to  speak  in  the 
presence  of  kings.  There  can  be  no  question  that  he  affirms 
he  would  willingly  stand  forward  in  vindication  of  the  glory 
of  God  in  the  face  of  the  whole  world.  He  selects  kinsrs, 
who  are  generally  more  to  be  dreaded  than  other  men,  and 
haughtily  shut  the  mouths  of  God's  witnesses.  Sometimes, 
indeed,  it  happens  we  will  not  hold  out  even  in  the  presence 
of  men  in  the  humblest  ranks  of  life.  The  moment  a  man 
sets  himself  in  opposition  to  the  word  of  God,  we  instinctively 
shrink  back  from  fear ;  and  that  boldness  of  speech,  of  which 
we  boasted  at  first,  instantly  disappears  :  but  our  want  of 
courage  is  most  palpable  when  we  are  summoned  before  the 
thrones  of  kings.  And  this  is  the  reason  why  David  asserts, 
that  he  will  not  only  hold  out  against  enemies  among  the 
meanest  of  men,  but  also  will  remain  firm  and  fearless  before 
kings.  These  words  inform  us  that  we  have  profited  well 
and  truly  by  God's  word,  when  our  hearts  are  so  completely 
fortified  against  the  fear  of  man,  that  w^e  do  not  dread  the 
presence  of  kings,  even  though  all  the  world  attempt  to  fill 
us  with  dejection  and  dismay.  It  is  most  unbecoming  that 
God's  glory  should  be  obscured  by  their  empty  splendour. 

47.  And  I  will  delight  myself.  The  sentiment  contained 
in  this  verse  is  similar  to  that  which  he  had  previously  men- 
tioned. The  amount  is,  he  held  the  commandments  of  God 
in  such  high  esteem,  that  he  experienced  nothing  more  plea- 
sant to  him  than  the  making  of  them  his  constant  theme  of 
meditation.  By  the  term  delight,  he  expresses  the  intensity 
of  his  love.  The  phrase,  /  will  lift  up  my  hands,  refers  to  the 
same  thing.  It  is  a  sure  indication  that  we  eagerly  desire  a 
thing  when  we  stretch  out  the  hands  to  grasp  and  enjoy  it. 
This  simile,  therefore,  denotes  the  ardour  of  his  desire.^     If 


'  "  The  lifting  up  of  the  hands  is  used  ia  Scripture  to  denote,  first, 
praying,  (Ps.  xxviii.  2  ;  Lam.  ii.  19  ;  1  Tim.  ii.  8  ;)  secondly,  blessing, 
(Lev.  xix.  22  ;  Ps.  xxii.  4  ;)  thirdly,  sivearing,  (Gen.  xiv.  22  ;  Deut. 
xxxii.  40  ;  Ps.  cvi.  26  ;  Ezek.  xxxvi.  7  ;  Rev.  x.  5  ;)  fourthly,  setting 
about  any  undertaking,  (Gen.  xli.  44  ;  Ps.  x.  1.3  ;  Heb.  xii.  12.)  Aben 
Ezra,  however,  explains,  (and  perhaps  rightly,)  that  the  metaphor,  in 
this  place,  is  taken  from  the  action  of  those  who  receive  any  one  whom 


43(5  COMMENTARY   UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

a  man,  by  his  mien  and  gait,  pretend  any  such  affection  for 
the  law  of  God,  and  yet  pay  no  regard  to  it  in  the  affairs 
of  life,  he  would  be  justly  chargeable  with  the  basest 
hypocrisy.  Again,  he  affirms,  that  that  affection,  so  earnest 
and  so  ardent,  springs  from  the  sweetness  of  the  law  of  God 
having  knit  our  hearts  to  it.  Finally,  he  says,  he  would 
meditate  on  God's  testimonies.  Along  with  the  majority  of 
commentators,  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  word  Ty\Uj  shuachy 
denotes  that  silent  and  secret  musing  in  which  the  children 
of  God  exercise  themselves. 

;  49.  Eemeniber  thy  word  to  thy  servant,  in  which  thou  hast  made 
him  hope. 

T  50.  This  is  my  consolation  in  my  affliction:  because  thy  icord  revives 
me. 

)  51.  The  jiroud  have  greatly  scorned  me :  I  have  not  turned  aside 
from  thy  law. 

\  52.  /  called  'to  mind  thy  judgments  of  old,  0  Jehovah  !  and  com- 
forted myself. 

^  53.  Terror  seized  me,  fur  the  wicked  who  forsahe  thy  law. 

T  54.  Thy  statutes  have  been  my  songs  in  the  house  of  my  pilgrimage. 

T  55.  By  night  I  remembered  thy  name,  0  Jehovah  !  and  I  keep  thy 
law. 

t  56.  This  is  done  to  me,  because  I  have  kept  thy  statutes, 

49.  Remember  thy  word.  He  prays  that  God  W'Ould  really 
perform  what  he  promised ;  for  the  event  proves  that  he  does 
not  forget  his  word.  That  he  is  speaking  of  the  promises  we 
infer  from  the  end  of  the  verse,  in  which  he  declares,  that 
cause  was  given  him  to  hope,  for  which  there  could  be  no 
place  unless  grace  had  been  presented  to  him.  In  the  second 
verse  he  asserts,  that  though  God  still  kept  him  in  suspense, 
yet  he  reposed  with  confidence  in  his  word.  At  the  same 
time  he  informs  us,  that  during  his  troubles  and  anxieties, 
he  did  not  search  after  vain  consolation  as  the  world  is  wont 
to  do,  who  look  around  them  in  all  quarters  to  find  something 
to  mitigate  their  miseries ;  and  if  any  allurements  tickle  their 

they  were  glad  or  proud  to  see  with  uplifted  hands." — Cressuell.  Merrick 
explains  the  phrase  thus  :  "  I  will  roach  out  my  hands  with  eagerness,  in 
order  to  receive  thy  commandments." 


rSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  437 

fancy,  they  make  use  of  these  as  a  remedy  for  alleviating 
their  sorrows.  On  the  contrary,  the  prophet  says  he  was 
satisfied  with  the  word  of  God  itself;  and  that  when  all 
other  refuges  failed  him,  there  he  found  life  full  and  perfect ; 
nevertheless,  he  covertly  confesses,  that  if  he  do  not  acquire 
courage  from  the  word  of  God,  he  will  become  like  a  dead 
man.  The  ungodly  may  sometimes  experience  elevation  of 
spirit  during  their  miseries,  but  they  are  totally  destitute  of 
this  inward  strength  of  mind.  The  prophet,  then,  had  good 
reason  for  stating,  that  in  the  time  of  affliction  the  faithful 
experience  animation  and  vigour  solely  from  the  icord  of  God 
inspiring  them  with  life.  Hence,  if  we  meditate  carefully  on 
his  word,  we  shall  live  even  in  the  midst  of  death,  nor  will 
we  meet  with  any  sorrow  so  heavy  for  which  it  will  not  fur- 
nish us  with  a  remedy.  And  if  we  are  bereft  of  consolation 
and  succour  in  our  adversities,  the  blame  must  rest  with  our- 
selves ;  because,  despising  or  overlooking  the  word  of  God, 
we  purposely  deceive  ourselves  with  vain  consolation. 

51.  The  proud  have  greatly  scorned  me.  This  example  is 
eminently  useful,  as  it  serves  to  inform  us,  that  though  our 
honesty  may  render  us  obnoxious  to  the  insults  of  the  un- 
godly, we  ought,  by  our  unflinching  constancy,  to  repel  their 
pride,  lest  we  should  take  a  dislike  to  the  law  of  God.  Many 
who,  in  other  respects,  would  be  disposed  to  fear  God,  yield 
to  this  temptation.  The  earth  has  always  been  filled  with  the 
impious  contemners  of  God,  and  at  this  day  it  is  almost  overrun 
with  them.  Wherefore,  if  we  do  not  disregard  their  revilings, 
there  will  be  no  stability  in  our  faith.  In  calling  unbelievers 
proud,  he  applies  to  them  a  very  appropriate  designation  :  for 
their  wisdom  consists  in  despising  God,  lightly  esteeming  his 
judgments,  trampling  all  piety  under  foot,  and,  in  short, 
pouring  contempt  upon  the  celestial  kingdom.  Were  they 
not  blinded  with  pride,  they  would  not  follow  such  a  head- 
long course.  We  must  interpret  the  words  in  this  manner : 
Though  the  proud  have  treated  me  with  scorn,  I  have  not 
turned  aside  from  thy  law.  We  must  not  overlook  the  par- 
ticle very  much,  or  greatly,  which  imports,  that  he  was  har- 
assed, not  merely  occasionally  or  for  a  short  time,  by  the  un- 


438  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

godly,  but  that  the  attack  was  continued  from  day  to  day. 
Let  us  learn  from  these  words,  that  the  wicked,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  forming  the  great  majority  of  mankind,  arro- 
gate to  themselves  the  greater  liberty.  The  number  of  the 
godly  who  worship  God  reverently  is  always  small.  Hence 
we  must  hold  out  against  a  large  troop  and  rabble  of  the  im- 
pious if  we  would  maintain  our  integrity. 

52.  I  called  to  mind  thy  judgments  ofold^  O  Jehovah!  In  this 
psalm,  the  judgments  of  God  are  generally  taken  for  his  statutes 
and  decrees,  that  is,  his  righteousnesses.^  In  this  place,  in 
consequence  of  the  qualifying  phrase,  of  old,  it  is  more  pro- 
bable that  they  refer  to  the  examples  by  which  God  has 
made  himself  known  as  the  righteous  Judge  of  the  world. 
Why  does  he  say  that  the  law  of  God  has  been  from  ever- 
lasting ?  This  may  to  some  extent  be  accounted  for  from  the 
righteousness  here  mentioned  not  being  of  recent  growth, 
but  truly  everlasting,  because  the  written  law  is  just  an 
attestation  of  the  law  of  nature,  through  means  of  which  God 
recalls  to  our  memory  that  which  he  has  previously  engraven 
on  our  hearts. 

I  am  rather  inclined  to  adopt  another  interpretation.  That 
David  remembered  the  judgments  of  God,  by  Avhich  he  testi- 
fied that  he  had  established  his  law  perpetually  in  the  world. 
Such  a  settlement  is  very  necessary  for  us ;  because,  when 
God  does  not  make  bare  his  arm,  his  word  frequently  pro- 
duces little  impression.  But  when  he  takes  vengeance  upon 
the  ungodly,  he  confirms  what  he  had  spoken ;  and  this  is 
the  reason  why  in  civil  law  penalties  are  called  confirmations. 
The  term  accords  better  with  God's  judgments,  by  which  he 
establishes  the  authority  of  his  law,  as  if  a  true  demonstra- 
tion accompanied  his  words.  And  seeing  he  declares  that 
he  called  to  mind  the  most  ancient  of  God's  judgments,  it 
becomes  us  to  learn,  that  if  his  judgments  are  not  displayed 
as  frequently  as  we  would  desire,  for  the  strengthening  of 
our  faith,  this  is  owing  to  our  ingratitude  and  apathy ;  for  in 

^  *'  The  Scriptures,  like  a  true  mirror,  display  the  justice  of  God,  in 
the  punishment  of  sinners,  and  his  goodness,  in  rendering  righteousness." 
— Dimock. 


PSALM  CXTX.  THE  BOOK  OP  PSALMS.  439 

no  past  age  have  there  been  wanting  clear  demonstrations 
for  this  very  purpose  ;  and  thus  it  may  with  truth  be  affirmed, 
that  God's  judgments  have  flowed  in  one  continued  manner 
from  age  to  age,  and  that  the  reason  why  we  have  not  per- 
ceived them  is,  our  not  deigning  to  open  our  eyes  to  behold 
them.     If  any  one  object,  that  it  is  contrary  to  the  nature 
of  his  judgments  to  aiford  consolation  to  us,  because  they 
are  calculated  rather  to  strike  us  with  terror,  the  answer  is 
at  hand, — that  the  faithful  are  made  to  tremble  for  fear  of 
God's  judgments,  as  far  as  is  requisite  for  the  mortification 
of  their  flesh.     On  the  other  hand,  these  supply  them  with 
a  large  source  of  consolation,  from  the  fact  of  their  learning 
from  them,  that  God  exercises  his  superintending  providence 
over  the  human  race.     Farther,  they  learn,  that  after  the 
wicked  have  revelled  in  licentiousness  for  a  season,  they 
shall  at  length  be  sisted  before  the  judgment-seat  of  God ; 
but  that  they  themselves,  after  having  patiently  combated 
under  such  a  Guardian  of  their  welfare,  can  be  in  no  doubt 
about  their  preservation. 

53.  Terror  seized  me}  This  verse  may  be  understood  in 
two  senses ;  either  that  the  prophet  was  grievously  afflicted 
when  he  saw  God's  law  violated  by  the  wicked,  or  that  he 
was  horror-struck  at  the  thought  of  their  perdition.  Some 
would  render  it  ardour,  which  does  not  so  properly  agree 
with  the  nature  of  the  passage  ;  I  therefore  abide  by  the 
te^vm.  fear,  by  which  I  think  his  ardent  zeal  is  pointed  out,  in 
that  he  was  not  only  deeply  grieved  at  the  transgressions  of 
the  law,  but  held  in  the  utmost  detestation  the  impious  bold- 
ness of  those  who  lightly  esteemed  the  law  of  God.     At  the 

1  The  Hebrew  word  here  used  for  terror  is  nsy^fi  zalaphah^  and  is 
supposed  to  refer  to  the  blasting  or  scorching  wind,  called  the  Simoom, 
well  known  to  the  Eastern  nations.  Accordingly,  Michaelis  reads,  "  A 
deadly  East  wind  seizes  me."  Cocceius  reads,  "  HoiTor,  as  a  tempest, 
has  seized  upon  me."  "  The  sacred  writer,"  says  he,  "  represents  the 
vehement  commotion  of  his  mind  as  resembling  a  violent  commotion  in 
the  ah-."  According  to  Dimock,  nsy'pT  denotes,  iu  this  place,  the  burn- 
ing fever  which  the  pestilential  winds  in  the  East  occasioned.  The  word 
occurs  only  three  times  in  Scripture;  here,  in  Ps.  xi.  7,  and  in  Lam. 
V.  10.  Our  translators  have  rendered  it,  in  Ps.  xi.  7,  by  storm,  and  in 
Lam.  v.  10,  in  the  margin,  plurally  by  terrors  or  storms.  See  vol.  i. 
p.  168,  note. 


440  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

same  time,  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  it  is  no  new  ground  of 
offence  to  the  faithful,  if  numbers  throw  off  God's  yoke,  and 
set  up  the  standard  of  rebellion  against  him.  This,  I  repeat, 
must  be  attended  to,  because  many  derive  flimsy  and  frivolous 
pretexts  for  it,  from  the  degeneracy  of  the  age,  as  if  they 
must  needs  howl  while  they  live  among  wolves.  In  the  days 
of  David,  we  see  there  were  many  who  apostatised  from  the 
faith,  and  yet,  so  far  was  he  from  being  discouraged  or  dis- 
mayed by  these  things,  that  the  fear  of  God  rather  kindled 
a  holy  indignation  in  his  bosom.  What  is  to  be  done,  then, 
when  surrounded  by  bad  examples,  but  that  we  should  vie 
with  each  other  in  holding  them  up  to  detestation  ?  And 
here  a  contrast,  if  not  directly  stated,  is  implied,  between  the 
flattering  unction  which  we  apply  to  ourselves,  believing  that 
all  is  lawful  which  is  common,  and  the  horror  with  which  the 
prophet  tells  us  he  was  seized.  If  the  wicked,  haughtily  and 
without  restraint,  set  themselves  in  opposition  to  God,  in 
consequence  of  our  not  being  alive  to  his  judgments,  we  con- 
vert that  into  an  occasion  of  perverse  confidence  and  insensi- 
bility. On  the  contrary,  the  prophet  asserts  that  he  was 
seized  with  horror,  because,  though  he  considered  the  long- 
suffering  of  God,  on  the  one  hand,  yet,  on  the  other,  he  was 
fully  persuaded  that  he  must,  sooner  or  later,  call  for  condign 
punishment. 

54.  Thy  statutes  have  heen  my  songs}  He  repeats  in  differ- 
ent words  what  he  had  formerly  mentioned,  that  the  law  of 
God  was  his  sole  or  special  delight  during  all  his  life.  Singing 
is  an  indication  of  joy.  The  saints  are  pilgrims  in  this  world, 
and  must  be  regarded  as  God's  children  and  heirs  of  heaven, 
from  the  fact  that  they  are  sojourners  on  earth.  By  the 
house  of  their  pilgrimage,  then,  may  be  understood  their  journey 
through  life.  One  circumstance  merits  particular  notice,  that 
David,  during  his  exile  from  his  native  country,  ceased  not 
to  draw  consolation,  amid  all  his  hardships,  from  the  law  of 
God,  or  rather  a  joy  which  rose  above  all  the  sadness  which 


^  "  In  the  early  ages,  it  was  customaiy  to  versify  the  laws,  that  the 
people  might  learn  them  by  heart,  and  sing  them." — Williams. 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  441 

his  banishment  occasioned  to  him.  It  was  a  noble  specimen 
of  rare  virtue,  that  when  he  was  denied  a  sight  of  the  temple, 
could  not  draw  near  to  the  sacrifices,  and  was  deprived  of 
the  ordinances  of  religion,  he  yet  never  departed  from  his 
God.  The  phrase,  the  house  of  his  pilgrimage,  is  employed, 
therefore,  to  enhance  the  conduct  of  David,  who,  when  ban- 
ished from  his  country,  still  retained  the  law  of  God  deeply 
engraven  on  his  heart,  and  who,  amid  the  severity  of  that 
exile,  which  was  calculated  to  deject  his  spirits,  cheered  him- 
self by  meditating  upon  the  law  of  God. 

55.  By  night  I  remembered  thy  name,  O  Jehovah  !  As  the 
second  clause  of  the  verse  depends  on  the  first,  I  consider  the 
whole  verse  as  setting  forth  one  and  the  same  truth ;  and, 
therefore,  the  prophet  means  that  he  was  induced,  by  the 
remembrance  he  had  of  God,  to  keep  the  law.  Contempt  of 
the  law  originates  in  this,  that  few  have  any  regard  for  God ; 
and  hence,  the  Scripture,  in  condemning  the  impiety  of  men, 
declares  that  they  have  forgotten  God,  (Ps.  1.  22  ;  Ixxviii.  11 ; 
cvi.  21.)  To  rectify  this,  David  exhorts  that  the  remem- 
brance of  God  is  the  only  remedy  for  preserving  us  in  his 
fear,  and  in  the  observance  of  his  law ;  and  assuredly,  as  often 
as  his  majesty  occurs  to  our  minds,  it  will  tend  to  humble  us, 
and  the  very  thought  of  it  will  provoke  us  to  the  cultivation 
of  godliness.  The  word  night  is  not  intended  by  him  to 
mean  the  remembering  of  God  merely  for  a  short  time,  but 
a  perpetual  remembrance  of  him ;  he,  however,  refers  to  that 
season  in  particular,  because  then  almost  all  our  senses  are 
overpowered  with  sleep.  "  When  other  men  are  sleeping, 
God  occurs  to  my  thoughts  during  my  sleep."  He  has 
another  reason  for  alluding  to  the  night-season,  That  we  may 
be  apprised,  that  though  there  was  none  to  observe  him,  and 
none  to  put  him  in  remembrance  of  it, — yea,  though  he  was 
shrouded  in  darkness, — yet  he  was  as  solicitous  to  cherish 
the  remembrance  of  God,  as  if  he  occupied  the  most  public 
and  conspicuous  place. 

56.  Tliis  ivas  done  to  me.  I  doubt  not  that  the  prophet, 
under  the  term  HJ^Tj  ^oth,  comprehends  all  God's  benefits ; 


442  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

but  as  he  comes  before  God  in  relation  to  blessings  then 
being  enjoyed  by  him,  he  speaks  as  if  he  were  pointing  to 
them.  Hence,  under  this  term  is  included  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  all  the  benefits  with  which  he  had  been  crowned; 
or,  at  all  events,  he  declares  that  God  had  borne  testimony, 
by  some  signal  deliverance,  to  the  integrity  of  his  conduct. 
He  does  not  boast  of  meriting  any  thing,  as  the  Pharisees  in 
our  day  do,  who,  when  they  meet  with  any  such  matter  in 
Scripture,  pervert  it  to  prove  the  merit  of  works.  But  the 
prophet  had  no  other  design,  than  to  set  himself  in  diame- 
trical opposition  to  the  despisers  of  God,  who  either  impute 
all  their  prosperity  to  their  own  industry,  or  ascribe  it  to 
chance,  and  malignantly  overlook  or  conceal  God's  super- 
intending providence.  He  therefore  calls  upon  himself  to 
return  to  God,  and  invites  others  to  follow  his  example, 
and  exhorts  them,  that  as  God  is  an  impartial  judge,  he 
will  always  reserve  a  recompense  for  piety.  Probably,  too, 
by  this  holy  boasting  he  repels  the  base  slanders  of  the 
ungodly,  by  which  we  lately  saw  he  was  grievously  assailed. 

n  57.  Thou  art  my  portion,  0  Jehovah  !  I  have  said  I  will  Tceep  thy 
words. 

n  58.  I  have  earnestly  besought  thy  face  tvith  my  whole  heart;  have 
mercy  u-pon  me  according  to  thy  word. 

PI  59.  /  thought  upon  my  ways,  and  tutted  my  feet  unto  thy  testi- 
monies. 

n  60.  I  made  haste,  and  did  not  delay  to  keep  thy  commandments. 

n  61.  The  cords  of  the  ivicked  have  caught  hold  of  me ;'  hut  I  did  not 
forget  thy  laiv. 

n  62.  I  will  rise  at  midnight  to  praise  thee  for  thy  righteous  judgments. 

n  63.  /  am  a  companion  to  all  those  who  fear  thee,  and  who  keep  thy 
precejyts. 

n  64.  0  Jehovah  !  the  earth  is  full  of  thy  mercy ;  teach  me  thy 
statutes. 

57.   Thou  art  my  portiorif  O  Jehovah!     The  meaning  of 
this  clause  is  doubtful,  because  the  term  Jehovah  may  be 

'  "  Ou,  les  assemblees  des  meschans  m'ont  despouille,  ou  pill6." — Fr. 
marg.     "  Or,  the  assemblies  of  the  wicked  have  robbed  me." 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  TSALMS.  443 

rendered  either  in  the  nominative  or  vocative  case,  and  the 
phrase,  I  have  said,  may  relate  either  to  the  former  or  latter 
part  of  the  verse.  One  lection  then  is,  Jehovah  is  my  portion^ 
and,  therefore,  /  have  resolved  to  observe  thy  law.  Another  is, 
O  God  !  who  art  my  portion,  1  have  resolved  to  observe  thy  law. 
A  third  is,  I  have  said,  or  have  resolved,  that  God  is  my  portion, 
in  order  to  observe  his  law.  A  fourth  is,  /  have  said,  or  have 
resolved,  O  Lord !  that  my  portion  is  to  observe  thy  law ;  and 
this  is  the  reading  of  which  I  approve.  The  following  inter- 
pretation is  quite  applicable,  That  God  being  our  portion,  ought 
to  animate  and  encourage  us  to  observe  his  law.  We  have 
already  noticed  in  several  other  passages,  that  God  is  denomi- 
nated the  heritage  of  the  faithful,  because  he  alone  is  sufficient 
for  their  full  and  entire  happiness.  And  seeing  he  has  chosen 
us  for  his  peculiar  possession,  it  is  only  reasonable,  on  our 
part,  that  we  should  rest  satisfied  with  him  alone  ;  and  if  we 
do  this,  our  hearts  will  also  be  disposed  to  keep  his  law,  and, 
renouncing  all  the  lusts  of  the  flesh,  our  supreme  delight,  and 
firm  resolution,  will  be  to  continue  in  the  same. 

I  have  already  said,  that  this  exposition  is  not  inconsistent 
Avith  the  scope  of  the  passage,  and  that  it  furnishes  a  very 
useful  doctrine.  But  the  last  and  fourth  reading,  of  which  I 
remarked  1  approved,  is  more  simple, — I  am  fully  persuaded 
that  my  best  portion  consists  in  keeping  God's  law ; — and 
this  accords  with  the  saying  of  Paul,  "  Godliness  is  the  best 
gain,"  (1  Tim.  vi.  6.)  David  here  draws  a  comparison  be- 
tween the  keeping  of  the  law,  and  the  imaginary  good  which 
captivates  the  ambition  of  mankind.  "  Let  every  one  covet 
what  seems  to  him  good,  and  revel  in  his  own  pleasures ;  I 
have  no  ground  to  envy  them,  provided  I  retain  this  as  my 
portion,  the  complete  surrender  of  myself  to  the  word  of 
God." 

58.  I  have  earnestly  besought  thy  face.  In  this  verse  David 
asserts,  that  he  still  persevered  in  the  exercise  of  prayer;  for 
without  prayer  faith  would  become  languid  and  lifeless.  The 
manner  in  which  he  expresses  himself,  which,  in  other  lan- 
guages, might  be  unpolished,  among  the  Hebrews,  expresses 
that  familiar  communication  to  which  God  admits,  and  even 


444  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

invites  his  servants  when  they  come  into  his  presence.  The 
substance  of  his  prayers,  and  the  sum  of  his  desires,  he  com- 
prehends in  a  single  sentence ;  namely,  that  he  implored  the 
mercy  of  God,  the  sure  hope  of  which  he  had  formed  from 
his  word.  Let  us  observe,  then,  in  the  first  place,  we  are 
aroused  from  our  supineness,  that  we  may  exercise  our  faith 
by  prayer.  In  the  second  place,  the  principal  thing  for  which 
we  ought  to  pray  is,  that  God,  out  of  his  free  grace,  may  be 
favourable  to  us,  look  on  our  affliction,  and  grant  us  relief. 
God  does,  indeed,  aid  us  in  a  variety  of  ways,  and  our  neces- 
sities also  are  innumerable  ;  still  the  thing  which  we  must 
principally  and  particularly  request  is,  that  he  will  have  mercy 
upon  us,  which  is  the  source  of  every  other  blessing.  And, 
in  the  last  place,  that  we  may  not  present  prayers  that  have 
no  meaning,  let  us  learn  that  God,  in  all  his  promises,  is  set 
before  us  as  if  he  were  our  willing  debtor. 

59.  Itliougltt  upon  my  ways}  The  amount  is,  that  after 
the  prophet  had  paid  due  regard  to  his  manner  of  life,  his 
only  aim  then  was  to  follow  the  teaching  of  the  law.  In 
these  words  he  intimates  indirectly,  that  if  it  be  inquired  Avhy 
men  go  astray,  and  are  miserably  distracted  amidst  conflicting 
impulses,  the  reason  is,  their  thoughtlessly  indulging  them- 
selves in  the  gratification  of  their  passions.  Every  man 
watches  most  carefully,  and  applies  all  his  energy  to  whatever 
his  inclination  may  lead  him,  but  all  are  blind  in  choosing 
the  object  which  they  ought  to  pursue  ;  or  rather,  as  if  their 
eyes  were  sealed,  they  are  either  hurried  away  inconsiderately, 
or  else,  through  carelessness,  wander  imperceptibly  from  one 
object  to  another.  One  thing  is  certain,  that  there  is  no  one 
who  carefully  considers  his  ways ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  not 
without  reason  the  prophet  exhorts  us,  that  the  commence- 

1  "  /  thought  on  my  ways,  in^rrii  chashabti,  I  deeply  pondered  them  ; 
I  turned  theiii  upside  down :  I  viewed  my  conduct  on  all  sides.  The 
Avord  as  used  here  is  a  metaphor  taken  from  embroidering^  where  the 
figure  must  appear  the  same  on  the  one  side  as  it  does  on  the  other :  there- 
fore the  cloth  must  be  turned  on  each  side  every  time  the  needle  is  set 
in,  to  see  that  the  stitch  be  fairly  set.  Thus  naiTOwly  and  scrupulously 
did  the  Psalmist  examine  his  conduct ;  and  the  result  was,  a  deep  con- 
viction that  he  had  departed  from  the  way  of  God  and  truth."— Z)r  Adam 
Clarke. 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  445 

ment  of  a  godly  life  consists  in  men  awaking  from  their 
lethargy,  examining  their  ways,  and,  at  last,  wisely  consider- 
ing what  it  is  to  regulate  their  conduct  properly.  He  next 
instructs  us,  that  when  a  person  is  inclined  in  good  earnest 
to  frame  the  course  of  his  life  well,  there  is  nothing  better 
than  for  him  to  follow  the  direction  which  the  Lord  points 
out.  In  fact,  were  not  men  infatuated,  they  would  universally 
and  unanimously  make  choice  of  God  to  be  the  guide  of  their 
life. 

60.  /  made  haste.  Though  the  words  are  in  the  past  tense, 
they  denote  a  continued  act.  The  prophet  declares  with 
what  promptitude  he  dedicated  himself  to  the  service  of 
God.  Diligence  and  dispatch  demonstrate  the  fervour  of  his 
zeal.  Next,  in  saying  that  he  delayed  not,^  this,  according  to 
the  Hebrew  idiom,  gives  intensity  to  the  idea  conveyed  by  the 
phrase,  /  made  haste.  As  among  the  Hebrews,  to  speak  and 
not  to  keep  silence  is  equivalent  to  speaking  freely,  unreservedly, 
and  without  dissimulation,  as  the  occasion  demands,  so  to 
make  haste  and  not  delay  is  to  run  quickly  without  doubt  or 
delay.  If  we  reflect  on  our  own  listlessness,  and  on  the 
snares  which  Satan  never  fails  to  put  in  our  way,  we  will  at 
once  perceive  that  these  words  are  not  added  in  vain.  For 
let  a  man  be  ever  so  desirous  of  applying  himself  truly  and 
heartily  to  the  righteousness  of  God,  yet,  according  to  Paul, 
we  know  that  "  he  does  not  the  thing  that  he  would,"  (Rom. 
■vii.  15, 18, 19.)  Although  no  outward  obstacle  may  stand  in 
our  way,  yet  we  are  so  retarded  by  impediments  within,  that 
nothing  is  more  difficult  than  to  make  haste  to  keep  the  law 
of  God.  At  the  same  time  we  must  remember,  that  the  pro- 
phet is  here  speaking  comparatively  in  reference  to  those 
who  are  chargeable  with  procrastination  during  the  greater 
part  of  their  life,  and  who  draw  near  to  God,  not  only  hesi- 

1  "  The  original  word,  whicli  we  translate  delayed  not,  is  amazingly 
emphatical.  TinfOrUDnn  ah^i  vela  hethmahmaheti,  I  did  not  stand  what, 
what,  whating;  or,  as  wc  used  to  express  the  same  sentiment,  shiUy-shally- 
iny  with  myself ;  I  was  determined,  and  so  set  out.  Tlie  Hebrew  word, 
as  well  as  the  English,  sti'ongly  marks  indecision  of  mind,  positive  action 
being  suspended,  because  the  mind  is  so  unfixed  as  not  to  be  able  to  make 
a  choice." — Dr  Adam  Clarke. 


446  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

tatingly  and  tardily,  but  also  purposely  loiter  in  their  course, 
or  else  prevent  themselves  from  coming  by  their  tortuous 
ways.  The  prophet  did  not  manifest  more  alacrity  in  serving 
God  than  Paul ;  all  he  intends,  therefore,  is,  that  having  sur- 
mounted all  obstacles  which  lay  in  his  way,  he  prosecuted 
his  journey  with  rapidity.  And  by  his  example  he  teaches 
us,  that  the  pleas  which  we  offer  in  extenuation  of  our  indo- 
lence, either  arising  from  the  impediments  presented  by  the 
world  or  our  own  infirmity,  are  vain  and  frivolous. 

61.  The  cords  of  the  wicked  have  caught  hold  of  me.  Those 
who  translate  ''T'^Hj  cheblei,  by  sorrows,  bring  out  no  natural 
meaning,  and  perplex  themselves  as  well  as  wrest  the  pass- 
age. Two  readings  then  remain,  either  of  which  may  be 
admitted  :  The  cords  of  the  wicked  have  caught  hold  of  me,  or 
The  companies  of  the  wicked  have  robbed  me}  Whether  we 
adopt  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  readings,  what  the  pro- 
phet intends  to  declare  is,  that  when  Satan  assailed  the  prin- 
ciples of  piety  in  his  soul,  by  grievous  temptations,  he  con- 
tinued with  undeviating  sted fastness  in  the  love  and  practice 
of  God's  law.  Cords  may,  however,  be  understood  in  two 
ways ;  either,  first,  as  denoting  the  deceptive  allurements  by 
which  the  wicked  endeavoured  to  get  him  entangled  in  their 
society ;  or,  secondly,  the  frauds  which  they  practised  to  effect 
his  ruin.  If  the  first  sense  is  preferred,  David  intimates  that 
he  had  manifested  a  rare  virtue,  in  continuing  in  the  observ- 
ance of  God's  law,  even  when  the  wicked  seemed  to  have 
involved  him  in  their  nets ;  but  as  it  is  more  generally  agreed 
that  the  verb  *7*)y,  ived,  signifies  to  despoil  or  rob,  let  us  adopt 
this  interpretation — That  the  prophet  being  assailed  by  troops 
of  the  ungodly,  and  afterwards  robbed  and  rifled  at  their 

'  "  The  congregation  of  the  ungodly  have  robbed  me. — Common  Prayer 
Book.  Rather  tlie  cords  of  the  wicked  have  infolded  me ;  i.  e.,  their 
machinations  have  been  directed  against  me,  and  not  without  effect. 
A  cord,  however,  fi-om  its  being  composed  of  m.any  strings  twisted  to- 
gether, was  used  metaphorically  by  the  Hebrews,  as  the  word  band  is 
by  us,  to  denote  a  collection  of  men  :  and  it  is  accordingly,  in  1  Sam.  x. 
5,  10,  rendered  in  our  English  Bible  by  cojnpany,  in  Avhich  sense  it  is 
here  taken  in  the  version  of  our  Book  of  Common  Prayer,  after  the 
Chaldee :  the  Septuagint  gives  the  literal  translation  of  the  word." — 
Crcsswcll. 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  Or  PSALMS.  447 

pleasure,  never  deserted  his  ground.  This  was  a  proof  of 
singular  fortitude ;  for  when  we  are  exposed  to  dangers  and 
wrongs  of  a  more  than  ordinary  kind,  If  God  does  not  succour 
us  we  Immediately  begin  to  doubt  of  his  providence  :  it  seems 
to  be  of  no  advantage  for  a  man  to  be  godly ;  we  Imagine 
also  that  we  may  lawfully  take  revenge ;  and  amidst  these 
waves,  the  remembrance  of  the  Divine  law  Is  easily  lost,  and, 
as  It  were,  submerged.  But  the  prophet  assures  us,  that  to 
continue  to  love  the  law,  and  to  practise  righteousness,  when 
we  are  exposed  as  a  prey  to  the  ungodly,  and  perceive  no 
help  from  God,  is  an  evidence  of  genuine  piety. 

62.  I  will  rise  at  midnight  to  praise  thee.  In  this  verse  he 
shows  not  only  that  he  approved  and  embraced  with  his 
whole  heart  whatever  the  Divine  law  contains,  but  that  he 
also  gave  evidence  of  his  gratitude  to  God  for  having  made 
him  partaker  of  so  great  a  blessing.  It  seems  to  be  quite  a 
common  thing  professedly  to  assent  to  God  when  he  teaches 
us  by  his  law ;  for  who  would  dare  to  lift  up  his  voice  against 
Him  ?  But  still  the  world  Is  very  far  from  acknowledging 
that  the  truth  which  he  has  revealed  Is  In  all  respects  reason- 
able. In  the  first  place,  such  is  the  rebellion  of  our  corrupt 
nature,  that  every  man  would  have  somewhat  either  altered  or 
taken  away.  Again,  if  men  had  their  choice,  they  would  rather 
be  governed  by  their  own  will  than  by  the  word  of  God. 
In  short,  human  reason,  as  well  as  human  passions,  is  widely 
at  variance  with  the  Divine  law.  He  then  has  profited  not 
a  little,  who  both  obediently  embraces  revealed  truth,  and, 
taking  sweet  delight  In  it,  gives  thanks  to  God  for  it.  The 
prophet,  however,  does  not  simply  declare  that  he  magnifies 
God's  righteous  judgments;  he  also  affirms  that  he  rose  at 
midnight  to  do  so,  by  which  he  expresses  the  earnestness  of 
his  desire ;  for  the  studies  and  cares  which  break  our  sleep 
necessarily  imply  great  earnestness  of  soul.  He  also,  at  the 
same  time,  intimates,  that  in  bearing  his  testimony  in  behalf 
of  the  Divine  law,  he  was  far  from  being  influenced  by  osten- 
tation, since  in  his  secret  retirement,  when  no  human  eye 
was  upon  him,  he  pronounced  the  highest  encomiums  ou 
God's  righteous  judgments. 


448  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

03.  I  am  a  companion  to  all  those  wliofear  thee.  He  does 
not  simply  speak  of  the  brotherly  love  and  concord  which 
true  believers  cultivate  among  themselves,  but  intimates  that, 
whenever  he  met  with  any  individual  who  feared  God,  he 
gave  him  his  hand  in  token  of  fellowship,  and  that  he  was 
not  only  one  of  the  number  of  God's  servants,  but  also  their 
helper.  Such  concord  is  undoubtedly  required  in  all  the 
godly,  that  they  may  contribute  to  each  other's  advancement 
in  the  fear  of  God.  There  seems  to  be  a  tacit  comparison 
between  this  holy  combination,  by  which  the  faithful  mutually 
keep  up  and  foster  among  themselves  the  worship  of  God 
and  true  godliness,  and  the  impious  associations  which  pre- 
vail every  where  in  the  world.  We  see  how  worldly  men 
array  their  troops  against  God,  and  assist  one  another  in 
their  attempts  to  overthx'ow  his  worship.  The  more  then  is 
it  necessary  for  the  children  of  God  to  be  stirred  up  to  the 
maintenance  of  a  holy  unity.  The  Psalmist  commends  the 
faithful,  first,  for  their  fearing  God,  and,  secondly,  for  their 
observing  the  law.  The  fear  of  God  is  the  root  or  origin  of 
all  righteousness,  and  by  dedicating  our  life  to  His  service, 
we  manifest  that  His  fear  dwells  in  our  hearts. 

64.  O  Jehovah  !  the  earth  is  full  of  thy  mercy.  Here  the 
prophet  beseeches  God,  in  the  exercise  of  his  infinite  good- 
ness, which  is  reflected  in  every  part  of  the  world,  graciously 
to  make  him  a  partaker  of  the  treasure  of  heavenly  wisdom — 
a  manner  of  prayer  which  is  very  emphatic.  When,  there- 
fore, he  says  that  the  earth  is  full  of  God's  mercy,  it  is  a  kind 
of  earnest  entreaty.  He  not  only  magnifies  the  goodness  of 
God,  in  general,  (as  he  does  in  other  places,)  in  leaving  no 
part  of  the  world  devoid  of  the  proofs  of  his  liberality,  and  in 
exercising  it  not  only  towards  mankind,  but  also  towards  the 
brute  creation.  What  does  he  then?  He  desires  that  the 
mercy  of  God,  which  is  extended  to  all  creatures,  maybe  mani- 
fested towards  him  in  one  thing,  and  that  is,  by  enabling  him  to 
make  progress  in  the  knowledge  of  the  Divine  law.  Whence 
we  gather,  that  he  accounted  the  gift  of  understanding  as  an 
inestimable  treasure.  Now,  if  to  be  endued  with  the  spirit 
of  understanding  is  a  chief  token  of  God's  favour,  our  want 


PSALM  CXIX,  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  449 

of  this,  proceeding  from  our  own  unbelief,  is  an  indication  of 
our  alienation  from  him.  It  behoves  us  to  remember  Avhat 
we  have  stated  elsewhere,  that  it  is  an  evidence  that  we  have 
given  ourselves  up  to  the  most  shameful  sloth,  when,  con- 
tented with  a  superficial  knowledge  of  Divine  truth,  we  are, 
in  a  great  measure,  indifferent  about  making  further  progress, 
seeing  so  renowned  a  teacher  of  the  Church  laboured  with 
the  greatest  ardour  to  become  more  and  more  acquainted  with 
God's  statutes.  Besides,  it  is  certain  that  he  does  not  liere 
treat  of  external  teaching,  but  of  the  inward  illumination  of 
the  mind,  Avhich  is  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  law  was 
exhibited  to  all  without  distinction ;  but  the  prophet,  well 
aware  that  unless  he  were  enlightened  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  it 
would  be  of  little  advantage  to  him,  prays  that  he  may  be 
taught  eflPectually  by  supernatural  influence. 

t3  65.  0  Jehovah  !  thou  hast  done  good  to  thy  servant,  according  to 

thy  word. 
13  66.  Teach  me  goodness  of  taste  and  knowledge  :  for  I  have  believed 

thy  commandments. 
D  67.  Before  I  was  brought  low  J  went  astray :  but  noiv  I  keep  thy 

word. 
13  68.  Thou  art  good,  and  doest  good ;  teach  me  thy  statutes. 
t3  69.  The  jjroud  have  iveaved  lies  agcdnst  me :  but  I  will  kee])  thy 

statutes  ivith  my  ivhole  heart. 
13  70.  Their  heart  is  fat  as  grease :  but  I  delight  in  thy  laiv. 
13  71.  It  has  been  good  for  vie  that  I  was  afflicted;  Hiat  I  might 

learn  thy  statutes. 
13  72.  The  law  of  thy  mouth  is  better  to  me  than  thousands  of  gold 

and  silver. 

65.  O  Jehovah  !  thou  hast  done  good  to  thy  servant.  Some 
understand  this  generally,  as  if  the  prophet  protested  that,  in 
whatever  way  God  dealt  with  him,  he  took  it  in  good  part, 
convinced  that  it  would  ultimately  issue  in  his  welfare ;  but 
as  express  mention  is  made  of  the  Divine  word  or  promise, 
the  prophet,  I  have  no  doubt,  celebrates  the  faithfulness  of 
God  in  performing  the  grace  which  he  had  promised.  I  have 
really  experienced  (as  if  he  had  said)  that  Thou  art  true, 
and  dost  not  delude  thy  servants  with  empty  words.    Special 

VOL.  IV.  2  F 


450  COMMENTAFtY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

reference  is  therefore  here  made  to  God's  promises,  because 
thence  all  his  benefits  flow  to  us,  not,  indeed,  as  from  the 
original  fountain-head,  but,  as  it  were,  by  conduit  pipes. 
Although  his  free  goodness  is  the  only  cause  which  induces 
him  to  deal  bountifully  with  us,  yet  we  can  hope  for  nothing 
at  his  hand  until  he  first  bring  himself  under  obligation  to  us 
by  his  word. 

GQ.  Teach  me  goodness  of  taste  and  knoichdge.  After  having 
confessed  that  he  had  found,  by  experience,  the  faithfulness 
of  God  to  his  promises,  David  here  adds  a  request  similar  to 
what  is  contained  in  the  64th  verse,  namely,  that  he  may 
grow  in  right  understanding ;  although  the  phraseology  is 
somewhat  different ;  for  instead  of  thy  statutes,  as  in  that  verse, 
he  here  uses  goodness  of  taste  and  knowledge.  As  the  verb 
DytO)  ta'dm,  signifies  to  taste,  the  noun  which  is  derived  from  it 
properly  denotes  taste.  It  is,  however,  applied  to  the  mind. 
David,  there  is  no  doubt,  prays  that  knowledge,  accompanied 
with  sound  discretion  and  judgment,  might  be  imparted  to 
him.  Those  who  read,  disjunctively,  goodness  and  taste, 
mar  the  whole  sentence.  It  is,  however,  necessary,  in  order 
to  our  arriving  at  the  full  meaning,  that  the  latter  clause 
should  be  added.  He  asserts  that  he  believed  God''s  command- 
ments, in  other  words,  that  he  cheerfully  embraced  whatever 
is  prescribed  in  the  law;  and  thus  he  describes  himself  as 
docile  and  obedient.  As  it  was  by  the  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  that  he  became  thus  inclined  to  obedience,  he  pleads 
that  another  gift  may  be  bestowed  upon  him, — the  gift  of  a 
sound  taste  and  good  understanding.  Whence  we  learn,  that 
these  two  things — right  affection  and  good  understanding — 
are  indispensably  necessary  to  the  due  regulation  of  the  life. 
The  prophet  already  believed  God's  commandments ;  but  his 
veneration  for  the  law,  proceeding  from  a  holy  zeal,  led  him 
to  desire  conformity  to  it,  and  made  him  afraid,  and  not  with- 
out cause,  of  inconsiderately  going  astray.  Let  us  then  learn, 
that  after  God  has  framed  our  hearts  to  the  obedience  of  his 
law,  we  must,  at  the  same  time,  ask  wisdom  from  him  by 
which  to  regulate  our  zeal. 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  451 

67.  Before  I  was  brought  low  I  went  astray.     As  the  verb 
n^y,  anah,  sometimes  signifies  to  speak,  or  to  testifij,  some 
adopt  this  rendering,  Before  I  meditated  upon  tliy  statutes  I 
loent  astray ;  but  this  seems  too  forced.     Others  go  still  far- 
ther from  the  meaning,  in  supposing  it  to  be,  that  when  the 
prophet  went  astray,  he  had  nothing  to  say  in  answer  to  God. 
I  will  not  stop  to  refute  these  conceits,  there  being  no  ambi- 
guity in  the  words.     David  in  his  own  person  describes  either 
that  wantonness  or  rebellion,  common  to  all  mankind,  which 
is  displayed  in  this,  that  we  never  yield  obedience  to  God 
until  we  are  compelled  by  his  chastisements.     It  is  indeed  a 
monstrous  thing  obstinately  to  refuse  to  submit  ourselves  to 
Him ;  and  yet  experience  demonstrates,  that  so  long  as  he 
deals  gently  with  us,  we  are  always  breaking  forth  into  inso- 
lence.    Since  even  a  prophet  of  God  required  to  have  his 
rebellion  corrected  by  forcible  means,  this  kind  of  discipline 
is  assuredly  most  needful  for  us.     The  first  step  in  obedience 
being  the  mortifying  of  the  flesh,  to  which  all  men  are  natu- 
rally disinclined,  it  is  not  surprising  if  God  bring  us  to  a 
sense  of  our  duty  by  manifold  afflictions.     Yea,  rather  as  the 
flesh  is  from  time  to  time  obstreperous,  even  when  it  seems 
to  be  tamed,  it  is  no  wonder  to  find  him  repeatedly  subjecting 
us  anew  to  the  rod.     This  is  done  in  different  ways.     He 
humbles  some  by  poverty,  some  by  shame,  some  by  diseases, 
some  by  domestic  distresses,    some    by  hard   and   painful 
labours;  and  thus,  according  to   the   diversity  of  vices  to 
which  we  are  prone,  he  applies  to  each  its  appropriate  remedy. 
It  is  now  obvious  how  profitable  a  truth  this  confession  con- 
tains.     The  prophet  speaks  of  himself  even  as  Jeremiah, 
(xxxi.  18,)  in  like  manner,  says  of  himself,  that   he  was 
"  as  a  bullock  unaccustomed  to  the  yoke  ;"  but  still  he  sets 
before  us  an  image  of  the  rebellion  which  is  natural  to  us  all. 
We  are  very  ungrateful,  indeed,  if  this  fruit  Avhich  we  reap 
from  chastisements  do  not  assuage  or  mitigate  their  bitter- 
ness.    So  long  as  we  are  rebellious  against  God,  we  are  in  a 
state  of  the  deepest  wretchedness :  now,  the  only  means  by 
which  He  bends  and  tames  us  to  obedience,  is  his  instructing 
us  by  his  chastisements.     The  prophet,  at  the  same  time, 
teaches  us  by  his  own  example,  that  since  God  gives  evidence 


452  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

of  his  willingness  that  we  should  become  his  disciples,  by  the 
pains  he  takes  to  subdue  our  hardness,  we  should  at  least 
endeavour  to  become  gentle,  and,  laying  aside  all  stubborn- 
ness, willingly  bear  the  yoke  which  he  imposes  upon  us. 

The  next  verse  needs  no  explanation,  being  nearly  of  the 
same  import  as  the  last  verse  of  the  former  eight.  He 
beseeches  God  to  exercise  his  goodness  towards  him,  not  by 
causing  him  to  increase  in  riches  and  honours,  or  to  abound 
in  pleasures,  but  by  enabling  him  to  make  progress  in  the 
knowledge  of  the  law.  It  is  usual  for  almost  all  mankind  to 
implore  the  exercise  of  God's  goodness  towards  them,  and  to 
desire  that  he  would  deal  bountifully  with  them,  in  the  way 
of  gratifying  the  diversity  of  the  desires  into  which  they  are 
severally  hurried  by  the  inclinations  of  the  flesh ;  but  David 
protests  that  he  would  be  completely  satisfied,  provided  he 
experienced  God  to  be  liberal  towards  him  in  this  one  parti- 
cular, which  almost  all  men  pass  over  with  disdain. 

69.  The  proud  have  iveaved  ^  lies  against  me.  He  declares 
that,  notwithstanding  the  malignant  interpretation  which  the 
wicked  put  upon  all  that  he  did,  and  their  attempts,  by  this 
artifice,  to  turn  him  aside  from  following  after  and  loving 
uprightness,  the  state  of  his  mind  remained  unaltered.  It  is 
a  severe  temptation,  when,  although  innocent,  we  are  loaded 
with  reproach  and  infamy,  and  are  not  only  assailed  by  inju- 
rious words,  but  also  held  up  to  the  odium  of  the  world  by 
wicked  persons,  under  some  specious  pretence  or  other.  We 
see  many  who  otherwise  are  good  people,  and  inclined  to  live 
uprightly,  either  become  discouraged,  or  are  greatly  shaken, 
when  they  find  themselves  so  unworthily  rewarded.  On  this 
account  the  prophet's  example  is  the  more  to  be  attended  tOj 
that  we  may  not  be  appalled  by  the  malignity  of  men ;  that  we 
may  not  cease  to  nourish  within  us  the  fear  of  God,  even  when 
they  may  have  succeeded  in  destroying  our  reputation  in  the 
sight  of  our  fellow-creatures ;  and  that  we  may  be  contented 
to  have  our  piety  shining  at  the  judgment-seat  of  God,  al- 
though it  may  be  defaced  by  the  calumnies  of  men.  So  long  as 

'  Archbishop  Seeker  reads,  "  made  np."  "  It  signifies,"  says  he, 
"  fastening  things  together." 


rSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  453 

we  depend  upon  the  judgment  of  men,  we  will  always  be  in 
a  state  of  fluctuation,  as  has  been  already  observed.  Farther, 
let  our  works  be  never  so  splendid,  we  know  that  they  will 
be  of  no  account  in  the  sight  of  God,  if,  in  performing  them, 
our  object  is  to  gain  the  favour  of  the  world.  Let  us  there- 
fore learn  to  cast  our  eyes  to  that  heavenly  stage,  and  to 
despise  all  the  malicious  reports  which  men  may  spread 
against  us.  Let  us  leave  the  children  of  this  world  to  enjoy 
their  reward,  since  our  crown  is  laid  up  for  us  in  heaven,  and 
not  on  the  earth.  Let  us  disentangle  ourselves  from  the 
snares  with  which  Satan  endeavours  to  obstruct  us,  by 
patiently  bearing  infamy  for  a  season.  The  verb  7SD)  taphal, 
which  otherwise  signifies  to  join  together,  is  here,  by  an  ele- 
gant metaphor,  taken  for  to  weave,  or  to  trim ;  intimating  that 
the  enemies  of  the  prophet  not  only  loaded  him  with  coarse 
reproaches,  but  also  invented  crimes  against  him,  and  did  so 
with  great  cunning  and  colour  of  truth,  that  he  might  seem 
to  be  the  blackest  of  characters.  But  though  they  ceased 
not  to  weave  for  him  this  web,  he  was  enabled  to  break 
through  it  by  his  invincible  constancy;  and,  exercising  a 
strict  control  over  his  heart,  he  continued  faithfully  to  observe 
the  law  of  God.  He  applies  to  them  the  appellation  of 
proud;  and  the  reason  of  this,  it  may  be  conjectured,  is,  that 
the  persons  of  whom  he  speaks  were  not  the  common  people, 
but  great  men,  who,  inflated  with  confidence  in  their  honours 
and  riches,  rose  up  against  him  with  so  much  the  more  auda- 
city. He  evidently  intimates  that  they  trampled  him  under 
their  feet  by  their  proud  disdain,  just  as  if  he  had  been  a 
dead  dog. 

With  this  corresponds  the  statement  in  the  subsequent 
verse,  (70th,)  that  their  heart  is  fat  as  grease,^ — a  vice  too 
common  among  the  despisers  of  God.  Whence  is  it  that 
wicked  men,  whom  their  own  conscience  gnaws  within,  vaunt 
themselves  so  insolently  against  the  most  eminent  servants 


'  The  fat  of  the  human  body,  as  physiologists  inform  us,  is  absohitely 
insensible ;  the  lean  membraneous  parts  bein<;^  those  only  which  are  sen- 
sitive. Accordingly, /a<«css  of  heart  is  used,  with  much  propriety,  to 
express  the  insensibility,  stupidity,  or  sensuality  of  tliose  feelings  or  aifec- 
tions  of  which  the  heart  is  considered  the  seat. 


454  commentahy  upon  psalm  cxix. 

of  God,  but  because  a  certain  grossness  overgrows  their 
hearts,  so  that  they  are  stupifietl,  and  even  phrenzied  by  their 
own  obstinacy  ?  But  wonderful  and  worthy  of  the  highest 
praise  is  the  magnanimity  of  the  prophet,  who  found  all  his 
delight  in  the  law  of  God  :  it  is  as  if  he  declared  that  this 
was  the  food  on  which  he  fed,  and  with  which  he  was 
refreshed  in  the  highest  degree ;  which  could  not  have  been  the 
case  had  not  his  heart  been  freed,  and  thoroughly  cleansed 
from  all  unhallowed  pleasures. 

71.  It  has  been  good  for  me  that  I  was  afflicted.  He  here 
confirms  the  sentiment  which  we  have  previously  considered 
— that  it  was  profitable  to  him  to  be  subdued  by  God's  chas- 
tisements, that  he  might  more  and  more  be  brought  back  and 
softened  to  obedience.  By  these  words  he  confesses  that  he 
was  not  exempt  from  the  perverse  obstinacy  with  which  all 
mankind  are  infected  ;  for,  had  it  been  otherwise  with  him, 
the  profit  of  which  be  speaks,  when  he  says  that  his  docility 
was  owing  to  his  being  brought  low,  would  have  been  merely 
pretended ;  even  as  none  of  us  willingly  submits  his  neck  to 
God,  until  He  soften  our  natural  hardness  by  the  strokes  of  a 
hammer.  It  is  good  for  us  to  taste  continually  the  fruit 
which  comes  to  us  from  God's  corrections,  that  they  may 
become  sweet  to  us ;  and  that,  in  this  way,  we,  who  are  so 
rebellious  and  wayward,  may  suffer  ourselves  to  be  brought 
into  subjection. 

The  last  verse  also  requires  no  exposition,  as  it  contains  a 
sentiment  of  very  frequent  occurrence  in  this  psalm,  and,  in 
itself,  sufficiently  plain, — That  he  preferred  God's  law  to  all 
the  riches  of  the  world,  the  immoderate  desire  of  which  so 
deplorably  infatuates  the  great  bulk  of  mankind.  He  does 
not  compare  the  law  of  God  with  the  riches  he  himself 
possessed ;  but  he  affirms,  that  it  was  more  precious  in  his 
estimation  than  a  vast  inheritance. 

1  73.  Thy  hands  have  made  and  fashioned  7ne:  make  me  to  understand, 

that  I  may  learn  thy  commandments. 
>  74.  They  loho  fear  thee  shall  see  me  and  he  glad;  because  I  have 

hoped  in  thy  word. 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  455 

1  75.  I  have  hiown,  O  Jehovah!  tlmt  thif  judgTmnts  are  justice ;  and 
thou  liast  humbled  me  in  truth. 

>  76.  /  beseech  thee  let  thj  goodness  he  for  my  consolation,  according  to 

thy  word  to  thy  servant. 

>  77.  Let  thy  compassions  come  unto  me,  and  let  me  live :  for  thy  law 

is  my  delight. 
'I  78.  Let  the  2)roud  be  put  to  shame ;  for  they  have  falsely  endeavoured 

to  jyerver-t  me :  I  will  meditate  on  thy  precepts. 
t  79.  Let  such  as  fear  tJiee  turn  unto  me,  and  those  who  Jiave  known 

thy  testimonies. 
*  80.  Let  my  heart  be  sound  in  thy  statutes ;  that  I  may  not  he  put 

to  shame. 

73.  Thy  hands  have  made  and  fashioned  me.  The  avowal 
of  the  prophet,  that  he  had  been  created  by  the  hand  of  God, 
greatly  contributed  to  inspire  him  with  the  hope  of  obtaining 
the  favour  which  he  supplicates.  As  we  are  the  creatures 
and  the  workmanship  of  God,  and  as  he  has  not  only  bestowed 
upon  us  vital  motion,  in  common  with  the  lower  animals,  but 
has,  in  addition  thereto,  given  us  the  light  of  understanding 
and  reason, — this  encourages  us  to  pray  that  he  would  direct 
us  to  the  obedience  of  his  law.  And  yet  the  prophet  does 
not  call  upon  God,  as  if  He  were  under  any  obligations  to 
him  ;  but,  knowing  that  God  never  forsakes  the  work  which 
he  has  begun,  he  simply  asks  for  new  grace,  by  which  God 
may  carry  on  to  perfection  what  he  has  commenced.  We 
have  need  of  the  assistance  of  the  law,  since  all  that  is 
sound  in  our  understandings  is  corrupted ;  so  that  we  can- 
not perceive  what  is  right,  unless  we  are  taught  from  some 
other  source.  But  our  blindness  and  stupidity  are  still 
more  strikingly  manifest,  from  the  fact  that  teaching  will 
avail  us  nothing,  until  our  souls  are  renewed  by  Divine  grace. 
What  I  have  previously  said  must  be  borne  in  mind,  That 
whenever  the  prophet  prays  for  understanding  being  imparted 
to  him,  in  order  to  his  learning  the  Divine  commandments, 
he  condemns  both  himself  and  all  mankind  as  in  a  state  of 
blindness  ;  for  which  the  only  remedy  is  the  illumination  of 
the  Holy  Spirit. 

74.  They  lohofear  thee  shall  see  me  and  be  ylad.     This  verse 


456  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

18  either  connected  with  the  preceding,  or  it  includes  other 
benefits  of  God,  besides  the  blessing  mentioned  in  that  verse. 
Whether  the  Psalmist  adverts  only  to  one  particular  species 
of  blessing,  or  speaks  generally,  he  by  these  words  highly 
extols  the  benefits  with  which  God  had  honoured  him,  that 
all  genuine  saints  in  common  might  experience  joy  on  that 
account.  He  does  not  mean  to  say  that  this  joy  proceeds 
solely  from  the  trust  which  he  reposed  in  God,  but  that  it 
also  proceeds  from  this, — that,  having  been  px^eserved  by  him 
in  a  remarkable  way,  and  loaded  with  many  benefits,  his 
hope  had  received  an  ample  reward.  As  God  invites  all 
his  servants  in  common  to  trust  in  him,  it  follows,  that, 
whenever  he  exhibits  a  token  of  his  grace  towards  any  one  of 
them,  he  testifies  to  all  that  he  is  faithful  to  his  promises,  and 
that  they  have  no  reason  to  be  afraid  of  his  disappointing 
those  who  trust  in  him. 

75.  I  have  knoion,  O  Jehovah  !  that  thy  judgments  are  justice, 
^y  judgments,  in  this  psalm,  we  are  to  understand  the  precepts 
of  the  law  ;  but  as  the  prophet  immediately  adds,  that  he  was 
justly  chastised,  he  seems  to  use  the  word  in  this  verse,  for 
the  punishments  by  which  God  stirs  up  men  to  repentance. 
These  two  words,  pyi,  tsedek,  justice,  in  the  first  clause,  and 
nil/bXj  emunah,  truth,  in  the  last,  have  here  nearly  the  same 
signification.  In  the  first  clause,  the  prophet  confesses  in 
general  that  God  so  regulates  his  judgments,  as  to  shut  the 
mouths  of  the  ungodly,  should  any  of  them  complain  of  his 
cruelty  or  rigour ;  and  that  such  equity  shines  forth  in  them, 
as  to  extort  from  us  the  confession  that  nothing  is  better  for 
men  than  in  this  way  to  be  called  back  to  the  consideration 
of  themselves.  He  next  exhibits  an  example  of  this  in  his 
own  person.  Even  hypocrites  sometimes  yield  God  the  praise 
of  justice  when  he  chastises  others,  and  they  never  condemn 
his  severity,  so  long  as  they  themselves  are  spared.  But  it 
is  the  property  of  true  piety  to  be  less  austere  and  rigid 
censors  of  the  faults  of  others  than  of  our  own.  The  knoivledge 
of  which  the  prophet  speaks,  is  a  sure  evidence  of  his  having 
made  a  strict  and  earnest  examination  of  himself;  for,  had  he 
not  well  weighed  his  own  guilt,    he  could  not  by  assured 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  457 

experience  have  learned  the  righteousness  of  God  iu  his  afflic- 
tions. If  it  is  considered  preferable  to  take  the  word  judg- 
ments in  its  usual  acceptation,  the  meaning  of  the  text  will  be: 
Lord,  I  know  that  thy  law  is  holy  and  just,  and  severely  as 
thou  hast  afflicted  me,  I  still  retain  the  persuasion  of  this 
truth ;  for  even  in  my  afflictions  I  discern  the  righteousness, 
which  corresponds  with  the  character  of  thy  word. 

76.  I  beseech  thee  let  thy  goodness  be  for  my  consolation.  Al- 
though he  has  acknowledged  that  he  had  been  justly  humbled, 
yet  he  desires  that  his  sorrow  may  be  alleviated  by  some 
consolation.  He  implores  God's  mercy,  as  what  was  essen- 
tially necessary  to  relieve  and  cure  his  miseries.  He  thus 
shows  that  nothing  can  remove  sorrow  from  the  faithful,  until 
they  feel  that  God  is  reconciled  to  them.  In  the  Word  in 
which  God  offers  his  mercy,  there  is  to  be  found  no  small 
comfort  for  healing  all  the  grief  to  which  men  are  liable.  But 
the  Psalmist  is  now  speaking  of  actual  mercy,  if  I  may  use 
that  term,  when  God  by  the  very  deed  declares  the  favour 
which  he  has  promised.  Confiding  in  the  Divine  promise,  he 
already  cherished  in  his  heart  a  joy,  proceeding  from  the  hope 
of  receiving  the  communications  of  Divine  grace.  But  as  all 
our  hope  would  end  in  mere  disappointment,  did  not  God  at 
length  appear  as  our  deliverer,  he  requests  the  performance 
of  that  which  God  had  promised  him.  Lord,  as  if  he  had 
said,  since  thou  hast  graciously  promised  to  be  ready  to  suc- 
cour me,  be  pleased  to  make  good  thy  word  in  effect.  The 
observation  which  I  have  previously  made  ought  to  be  remem- 
bered, That  it  is  not  in  vain  to  remind  God  of  his  promise. 
It  would  be  presumption  for  men  to  come  into  His  presence, 
did  he  not,  of  his  own  mere  good  pleasure,  open  up  the  way  for 
them.  When  the  Psalmist  says,  to  thy  servant,  he  does  not 
claim  God's  mercy  exclusively  to  himself,  as  if  it  had  been 
promised  to  him  alone  by  some  special  oracle  ;  but  he  applies 
to  himself  what  God  has  promised  to  the  whole  Church, 
which  it  is  the  peculiar  province  of  faith  to  do ;  for  unless  I 
believe  that  I  am  one  of  those  to  whom  God  addresses  himself 
in  his  word,  so  that  his  promises  belong  to  me  in  common 
with  others,  I  will  never  have  the  confidence  to  call  upon  him. 


458  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

77.  Let  thy  compassions  come  unto  me.  In  this  verse,  the 
Psalmist  repeats  and  confirms  almost  the  same  request  as  In 
the  preceding  verse,  although  in  phraseology  somewhat  dif- 
ferent. As  he  had  just  now  said,  that  his  sorrow  could  not 
be  removed,  nor  his  joy  restored,  in  any  other  way  than  by 
God's  mercy  being  exercised  towards  him  ;  so  now  he  affirms 
that  he  cannot  live  without  being  reconciled  to  God.  He 
thus  distinguishes  himself  from  worldly  men,  who  are  very 
little  aiFected  with  a  concern  about  having  God  reconciled  to 
them  ;  or,  rather,  who  do  not  cease  securely  to  enjoy  them- 
selves, although  God  Is  angry  with  them.  He  distinctly 
affirms,  that,  until  he  know  that  God  is  reconciled  to  him,  he 
is  a  dead  man  even  while  living  ;  but  that,  on  the  other  hand, 
whenever  God  shall  cause  his  mercy  to  shine  upon  him,  he 
will  be  restored  from  death  to  life.  By  the  way,  he  intimates 
that  he  was  deprived  for  a  time  of  the  tokens  of  God's  fatherly 
favour ;  for  it  would  have  been  needless  for  him  to  have 
wished  that  it  might  come  to  him,  had  it  not  been  removed 
from  him.  As  an  argument  for  obtaining  what  he  supplicates, 
he  asserts  that  the  law  of  God  loas  his  delight ;  nor  could  he 
otherwise  hope  that  God  Avould  be  merciful  to  him.  Besides, 
no  man  truly  feels  what  virtue  is  in  the  Divine  favour,  but  he 
who,  placing  his  chief  happiness  in  that  alone.  Is  convinced 
that  all  who  dissever  themselves  from  God  are  miserable  and 
accursed ;  a  truth  which  the  prophet  had  learned  from  the 
law. 

78.  Let  the  proud  be  put  to  shame.  We  have  already  often 
had  occasion  to  remark,  that,  in  the  Hebrew  language,  the 
future  tense  is  frequently  used  in  the  sense  of  the  optative 
mood,  as  here, — They  shall  he  put  to  shame,  for.  Let  them  be  put 
to  shame.  Still  it  would  not  be  unsuitable  to  explain  the 
meaning  thus  :  As  the  proud  have  dealt  mischievously  with 
me,  and  molested  me  without  a  cause,  the  Lord  will  give 
them  their  reward.  But  as  almost  all  interpreters  are  agreed 
that  this  is  a  prayer,  in  the  translation  of  the  verse  I  am  un- 
willing to  depart  from  the  generally  received  explanation,  es- 
pecially as  the  language  Is  expressly  addressed  to  God  himself. 
It  is  important  to  attend  to  the  reason  why  the  Psalmist  hopes 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  459 

that  God  will  be  an  enemy  to  his  enemies  ;  namely,  because 
they  wickedly  and  maliciously  assaulted  him.  The  word 
Ip^i  sheker,  which  I  have  rendered /a/se/?/,  is  by  some  trans- 
lated, without  a  cause ;  but  they  seem  only  to  hit  upon  the 
one  half  of  the  prophet's  meaning;  for  this  word,  in  my 
opinion,  is  to  be  referred  to  the  stratagems  and  artifices  by 
which  the  wicked  endeavoured  to  destroy  David.  Whence 
we  gather,  that  whenever  we  are  wrongfully  persecuted  by 
wicked  men,  we  are  invited  to  have  recourse  directly  to  God 
for  protection.  At  the  same  time,  we  are  taught  that  we 
have  no  reason  to  be  abashed  at  their  insolence  ;  for,  what- 
ever power  they  may  arrogate  to  themselves,  He  will  beat 
down  their  loftiness,  and  lay  it  low,  to  their  shame  ;  so  that, 
being  confounded,  they  will  serve  as  an  example,  to  teach 
others  that  nothing  is  more  ridiculous  than  to  sing  the  sonac 
of  triumph  before  the  victory  is  gained.  The  verb  rT'tJ'K* 
asiach,  in  the  second  clause  of  the  verse,  may  be  rendered,  / 
iuill  speak  of,  as  well  as  /  will  meditate  upon  ;  implying,  that, 
when  he  had  obtained  the  victory,  he  would  proclaim  the  good- 
ness of  God,  which  he  had  experienced.  To  speak  of  God's 
statutes,  is  equivalent  to  declaring  out  of  the  law,  how  faith- 
fully he  guards  his  saints,  how  securely  he  deKvers  them,  and 
how  righteously  he  avenges  their  wrongs. 

79.  Let  such  as  fear  thee  turn  unto  me.  In  this  verse,  which 
is  connected  with  the  preceding,  the  Psalmist  affirms,  that 
the  deliverance  which  he  obtained  would  afford  common 
instruction  to  all  the  godly.  My  condition,  as  if  he  had  said, 
may,  for  a  time,  have  disheartened  the  righteous,  as  well  as 
increased  the  insolence  of  my  enemies ;  but  now,  taking 
courage,  they  will  turn  their  eyes  to  this  joyful  spectacle. 
Moreover,  let  us  learn  from  the  two  marks,  by  which  he  distin- 
guishes true  believers,  what  is  the  nature  of  genuine  godliness. 
He  puts  the  fear,  or  the  ?-everence  of  God,  in  the  first  place ; 
but  he  immediately  joins  to  it  the  knowledge  of  Divine  truth,  to 
teach  us  that  these  two  things  are  inseparably  connected. 
The  superstitious,  indeed,  exhibit  a  fear  of  God  of  a  certain 
kind,  but  it  is  a  mere  show,  which  quickly  evanishes.     Be- 


460  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

sides,  they  weary  themselves  in  their  own  inventions  to  no 
purpose  ;  for  God  will  take  no  account  of  any  other  services, 
but  those  which  are  performed  in  obedience  to  his  command- 
ments. True  religion,  then,  and  the  worship  of  God,  have 
their  origin  in  faith — in  the  faith  of  what  he  has  enjoined ; 
so  that  no  person  can  serve  God  aright,  but  he  who  has  been 
taught  in  His  school. 

80.  Let  my  heart  he  sound  in  thy  statutes.  Having,  a  little 
before,  desired  to  be  endued  with  a  sound  undei'standing,  he 
now  prays,  in  a  similar  manner,  for  sincere  affection  of  heart. 
The  understanding  and  affections,  as  is  well  known,  are  the 
two  principal  faculties  of  the  human  soul,  both  of  which  he 
clearly  shows  to  be  depraved  and  perverse,  when  he  requests 
that  his  understanding  may  be  illuminated,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  that  his  heart  may  be  framed  to  the  obedience  of  the 
law.  This  plainly  refutes  all  that  the  Papists  babble  about 
free  will.  The  prophet  not  only  here  prays  that  God  would 
help  him,  because  his  will  was  weak  ;  but  he  testifies,  with- 
out qualification,  that  uprightness  of  heart  is  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  "VVe  are,  moreover,  taught  by  these  words,  in 
what  the  true  keeping  of  the  law  consists.  A  great  part  of 
mankind,  after  having  carelessly  framed  their  life  according 
to  the  Divine  law,  by  outward  obedience,  think  that  they 
want  nothing.  But  the  Holy  Spirit  here  declares  that  no 
service  is  acceptable  to  God,  except  that  which  proceeds  from 
integrity  of  heart.  As  to  the  Avoid  ^''^H?  thamim,  rendered 
sound,  we  have  elsewhere  said,  that  a  sound  heart  is  set  in  op- 
position to  a  double  or  deceitful  heart.  It  is  as  if  the  prophet 
had  said,  that  those  who  are  without  dissimulation,  and  who 
offer  to  God  a  pure  heart,  yield  themselves  truly  to  Him. 
When  it  is  added,  that  1  may  not  he  put  to  shame,  it  is  intimated, 
that  such  shall  be  the  undoubted  issue  as  to  all  the  proud, 
who,  disdaining  the  grace  of  God,  lean  upon  their  own 
strength ;  and  as  to  all  hypocrites,  who,  for  a  time,  parade 
themselves  in  gay  colours.  The  amount,  then,  is,  that  unless 
God  govern  us  by  his  Spirit,  and  keep  us  in  the  performance 
of  our  duty,  so  that  our  hearts  may  be  sound  in  his  statutes, 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  461 

although  our  shame  may  be  hidden  for  a  time,  yea,  although 
all  men  should  praise  us,  and  hold  us  in  admiration,  yet 
we  cannot  avoid  falling,  at  length,  into  dishonour  and 
ignominy. 

3  81.  My  soul  hath  fainted  for  thy  salvation  :  I  hope  in  thy  word. 
3  82.  3Iy  eyes  have  waxed  dim  in  looking  for  thy  promise,  and  I 

say,  When  wilt  thou  comfort  me  ? 
3  83.  For  I  have  been  as  a  bottle  in  the  smohe ;  and  yet  I  have  not 

forgotten  thy  statutes. 
3  84.  How  many  are  the  days  of  thy  servant  ?  when  tvilt  thou  execute 

judgment  on  my  2)ersecuto7's  f 
3  85.  The  proud  have  digged  pits  for  me,  which  thing  is  not  according 

to  thy  law. 
3  86.  All  thy  commandments  are  truth:  they  persecute  me  deceitfully; 

therefore  help  thou  me. 
3  87.  They  have  almost  consumed  me  upon  the  earth ;  yet  I  have  not 

forsaken  thy  statutes. 
3  88.  Quicken  me  according  to  thy  goodness ;  and  I  will  keep  the 

testimony  of  thy  mouth. 

81.  My  soul  hath  fainted  for  thy  salvation.  The  Psalmist 
intimates  that,  although  worn  out  with  continual  grief,  and 
perceiving  no  issue  to  his  calamities,  yet  trouble  and  weari- 
ness had  not  produced  such  a  discouraging  effect  upon  his 
mind,  as  to  prevent  him  from  always  reposing  with  confidence 
in  God.  To  bring  out  the  meaning  the  more  distinctly,  we 
must  begin  at  the  second  clause,  which  is  obviously  added  by 
way  of  exposition.  There  he  affirms  that  he  trusts  in  God ; 
and  this  is  the  foundation  of  all.  But,  intending  to  express 
the  invincible  constancy  of  his  trust,  he  tells  us  that  he 
patiently  endured  all  the  distresses,  under  which  others  suc- 
cumb. We  see  some  embracing  with  great  eagerness  the 
promises  of  God ;  but  their  ardour,  within  a  short  time, 
evanishes  ;  or,  at  least,  is  quenched  by  adversity.  It  was  far 
otherwise  with  David.  The  verb  Tw'2j  kalah,  which  signifies 
to  faint,  or  to  he  consumed,  seems,  indeed,  at  first  sight,  to 
convey  a  different  meaning.  But  the  prophet,  in  this  passage, 
as  in  other  places,  hj  fainting  means  tlmt  patience,  Avhich  those 
who  are  deprived  of  all  strength,  and  who  seem  to  be  already 


4-(j2  comment aey  upon  psalm  cxix. 

dead,  continue  to  cherish,  and  which  inspires  their  hearts  with 
secret  groanings,  and  such  as  cannot  be  uttered.  This  fainting, 
then,  is  opposed  to  the  delicacy  of  those  who  cannot  suffer  a 
long  delay. 

82.  3fi/  eyes  have  waxed  dim  in  looMng  for  thy  loord. 
This  verse  is  very  similar  to  the  preceding, — transferring  to 
the  eyes  what  had  been  said  before  concerning  the  soul.  The 
only  difference  is,  that,  instead  of  longing  after  salvation  or 
help,  the  expression,  longing  after  God's  word  or  promise,  is  here 
used  ;  for  salvation  is  an  act,  as  it  is  termed ;  that  is  to 
say,  it  consists  in  effect,  whereas  a  promise  keeps  us  sus- 
pended in  expectation.  God  may  not,  all  at  once,  openly 
perform  what  he  has  promised ;  and,  in  this  case,  it  being 
only  in  his  word  that  he  promises  us  help,  there  is  no  other 
way  by  which  we  can  hope  for  help,  than  by  our  reposing  on 
his  word.  As,  then,  the  word  precedes,  in  order,  the  help 
which  God  affords,  or,  rather,  as  it  is  the  manner  in  which  it 
is  represented  to  our  view,  the  prophet,  when  sighing  after 
salvation,  very  properly  declares  that  he  kept  his  eyes  fixed 
on  the  Divine  word,  until  his  sight  failed  him.  Here  we 
have  presented  to  us  the  wonderful  and  incredible  power  of 
patience,  under  the  infirmity  of  the  flesh,  when,  being  faint 
and  deprived  of  all  vigour,  we  have  recourse  to  God  for  help, 
even  while  it  is  hidden  from  us.  In  short,  the  prophet,  to 
prevent  it  from  being  supposed  that  he  was  too  effeminate 
and  faint-hearted,  intimates  that  his  fainting  was  not  without 
cause.  In  asking  God,  When  xcilt  thou  comfort  me  ?  he  shows, 
with  sufficient  plainness,  that  he  was  for  a  long  time,  as  it 
were,  cast  off  and  forsaken. 

83.  For  I  have  been  as  a  bottle  in  the  smoke}     The  particle 

^  Bottles,  among  the  Jews  and  other  nations  of  the  East,  were  made 
of  goats'  or  kids'  skins,  as  is  the  custom  among  the  Eastern  nations  at 
this  day.  When  the  animal  was  killed,  they  cut  otf  its  feet  and  head, 
and  drew  it,  in  that  manner,  out  of  the  skin  without  opening  the  belly. 
They  afterwards  sewed  up  the  places  where  the  legs  were  cut  off,  and 
the  tail,  and  when  it  was  filled,  they  tied  it  about  the  neck.  In  these 
bottles,  not  only  water,  milk,  and  other  liquids  were  put,  but  every  thing 
intended  to  be  carried  to  a  distance,  whether  dry  or  liquid.  To  these 
goat-skin  vessels  a  reference  is  here  undoubtedly  made.    The  peasantry 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  463 

*^,  ki,  translated  for,  might  also,  not  Improperly,  be  resolved 
into  the  adverb  of  time,  token;  so  that  we  might  read  the 
verse  in  one  connected  sentence,  thus :  When  I  teas  like  a 
dried  bottle,  I,  nevertkeless,  did  not  forget  thy  law.  The  obvious 
design  of  the  Psalmist  is  to  teach  us,  that,  although  he  had 
been  proved  by  severe  trials,  and  wounded  to  the  quick,  he 
yet  had  not  been  withdrawn  from  the  fear  of  God.  In  com- 
paring himself  to  a  bottle  or  bladder,  he  intimates  that  he  was, 
as  it  were,  parched  by  the  continual  heat  of  adversities. 
Whence  we  learn,  that  that  sorrow  must  have  been  intense 
which  reduced  him  to  such  a  state  of  wretchedness  and 
emaciation,  that  like  a  shrivelled  bottle  he  was  almost  dried 
up.  It,  however,  appears  that  he  intends  to  point  out,  not 
only  the  severity  of  his  affliction,  but  also  its  lingering  na- 
ture— that  he  was  tormented,  as  it  were,  at  a  slow  fire;^  even 
as  the  smoke  which  proceeds  from  heat  dries  bladders  by 
bIow  degrees.  The  prophet  experienced  a  long  series  of  griefs, 
which  might  have  consumed  him  a  hundred  times,  and  that. 


of  Asia  are  in  the  habit  of  suspending  them  fi'om  the  roof,  or  hanging 
them  against  the  walls  of  their  tents  or  humble  dwellings:  here  tiicy 
soon  become  quite  black  with  smoke ;  for,  as  in  their  dwellings  there  are 
seldom  any  chimneys,  and  the  smoke  can  only  escape  through  an  aper- 
ture in  the  roof,  or  by  the  door,  whenever  a  fire  is  lighted  the  apartment 
is  instantly  filled  with  dense  smoke.  Accordingly,  some  suppose  that 
the  allusion  here  chiefly  is  to  the  blackness  which  a  bottle  contracts  by 
hanging  in  the  smoke;  and  the  translators  of  our  English  Bible,  by  rc- 
femng  in  the  margin  to  Job  xxx.  30,  as  parallel  to  this,  seem  to  have 
supposed  that  the  Psalmist  refers  to  the  blackness  his  face  contracted  by 
sorrow.  "  But,"  says  Harmer,  "  this  can  hardly  be  supposed  to  be  the 
whole  of  his  thought.  In  such  a  case,  would  he  not  rather  have  spoken 
of  the  blackness  of  a  pot^  as  it  is  supposed  the  prophet  Joel  does,  (ii.  C,) 
rather  than  to  that  of  a  leather  bottle?^'' — Ilarmer's  Observations^  vol.  i. 
p.  218.  When  such  bottles  are  suspended  in  the  smoky  tent  of  an  Arab, 
if  they  do  not  contain  liquids,  or  are  not  quite  filled  by  the  solids  Avliich 
they  hold,  they  become  dry,  shrunk,  and  shrivelled ;  and  to  this,  as  well 
as  to  their  blackness,  the  Psalmist  may  allude.  Long- continued  bodily 
affliction  and  mental  trouble  produce  a  similar  change  on  the  human 
frame,  destroying  its  beauty  and  strength  by  drying  up  the  natural  mois- 
ture. It  has  also  been  thought  tliat  there  is  a  contrast  between  such 
mean  bottles  and  the  rich  vessels  of  gold  and  silver  which  were  used  in 
the  palaces  of  kings.  "My  appearance  in  the  state  of  my  exile  is  as  dif- 
ferent from  what  it  was  when  I  dwelt  at  court,  as  are  the  gold  and  silver 
vessels  of  a  palace  from  the  smoky  skin  bottles  of  a  poor  Arab's  tent, 
where  I  am  now  compelled  to  reside." — Ibid,  and  Paxton's  Illustrations^ 
vol.  ii.  pp.  409,  410. 

I  "  Commc  a  petit  feu."— i^r. 


464  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

hj  their  protracted  and  lingering  nature,  had  he  not  been 
sustained  by  the  word  of  God.  In  short,  it  is  a  genuine 
evidence  of  true  godliness,  when,  although  plunged  into  the 
deepest  afflictions,  we  yet  cease  not  to  submit  ourselves  to  God. 

84.  Hoiv  many  are  the  days  of  thy  servant?  ^c.  Some  read 
these  two  clauses  apart,  as  if  the  first  were  a  general  com- 
plaint of  the  brevity  of  human  life,  such  as  is  to  be  met  with 
in  other  psalms,  and  more  frequently  in  the  book  of  Job ;  and 
next,  in  their  opinion,  there  follows  a  special  prayer  of  the 
Psalmist,  that  God  would  take  vengeance  upon  his  enemies. 
But  I  rather  prefer  joining  the  two  clauses  together,  and 
limit  both  to  David's  afflictions  ;  as  if  it  had  been  said,  Lord, 
how  long  hast  thou  determined  to  abandon  thy  servant  to 
the  will  of  the  ungodly  ?  when  wilt  thou  set  thyself  in  op- 
position to  their  cruelty  and  outrage,  in  order  to  take  ven- 
geance upon  them  ?  The  Scriptures  often  use  the  word  days 
in  this  sense ;  as,  for  example,  "  the  days  of  Egypt,"  Ezek. 
XXX.  9  ;  "  the  days  of  Babylon,"  and  "  the  days  of  Jerusalem," 
Ps.  cxxxvii.  7  ;  a  word  which,  in  other  places,  is  called  "  the 
day  of  visitation,"  Isa.  x.  3.  By  the  use  of  the  plural  num- 
ber, is  denoted  a  certain  determinate  portion  of  time,  which, 
in  other  places,  is  compared  to  the  "  days  of  an  hireling,"  Job 
xiv.  6  ;  Isa.  xvi.  14.  The  Psalmist  does  not,  then,  bewail 
in  general  the  transitory  life  of  man,  but  he  complains  that 
the  time  of  his  state  of  warfare  in  this  world  had  been  too 
long  protracted ;  and,  therefore,  he  naturally  desires  that  it 
might  be  brought  to  a  termination.  In  expostulating  with 
God  about  his  trouble,  he  does  not  do  so  obstinately,  or  Avitli 
a  murmuring  spirit ;  but  still,  in  asking  how  long  it  will  be 
necessary  for  him  to  suffer,  he  humbly  prays  that  God  would 
not  delay  to  succour  him.  As  to  the  point  of  his  stirring  him 
up  by  prayer  to  execute  vengeance,  we  have  elsewhere  seen  in 
what  sense  it  was  lawful  for  him  to  make  such  a  request ; 
namely,  because  the  vengeance  which  he  desired  to  see  was 
such  as  is  properly  suitable  to  God.  It  is  certain  that  he  had 
divested  himself  of  all  the  corrupt  affections  of  the  flesh,  that 
he  might,  with  a  pure  and  undisturbed  zeal,  desire  God's 
judgment.      He,  however,  in  this  passage,   only  wishes  in 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  465 

general  to  be  delivered  by  the  hand  of  God  from  the  wrongs 
which  were  inflicted  upon  him,  without  adjudging  to  perdi- 
tion his  adversaries;  for  he  was  quite  contented,  provided 
God  appeared  to  defend  him. 

85.  The  proud  ^  have  digged  pits  for  me.  He  complains  that 
he  had  been  circumvented  by  the  frauds  and  artifices  of  his 
enemies ;  as  if  he  had  said,  They  have  not  only  endeavoured 
to  injure  me  by  open  force  and  the  violence  of  the  sword,  but 
have  also  maliciously  sought  to  destroy  me  by  snares  and  se- 
cret arts.  The  additional  clause,  which  thing  is  not  according 
to  thy  Laio,  is  introduced  as  an  argument,  to  excite  God  to 
exercise  his  mercy ;  for  he  is  the  more  inclined  to  succour 
his  servants,  when  he  sees  that  the  attempts  made  upon  their 
welfare  involve  the  violation  of  his  own  Law.  At  the  same 
time,  the  Psalmist  furnishes  a  proof  of  his  own  innocence, 
intimating  that  he  had  deserved  no  such  treatment  at  their 
hands,  and  that  whatever  they  practised,  he,  notwithstanding, 
patiently  kept  himself  under  restraint ;  not  attempting  any 
thing  which  he  knew  to  be  contrary  to  the  Divine  Law. 

86.  All  thy  commandments  are  truth.  In  this  verse  he  again 
confirms  the  statement,  That,  in  whatever  ways  he  was  afllict- 
ed,  his  mind  had  not  been  distracted  by  various  devices, 
because,  trusting  in  the  word  of  God,  he  never  doubted  of 
his  assistance.  In  the  first  place,  he  tells  us,  that  the  con- 
sideration, by  which  he  was  armed  for  repelling  all  assaults, 
was  this.  That  the  faithful,  under  the  conduct  of  God,  engage 
in  a  prosperous  warfare,  the  salvation  which  they  hope  for 
from  his  word  being  absolutely  certain.     For  this  reason  he 


'  "  pyWi  the  proud.  The  proud  here,  as  well  as  in  many  other  parts 
of  Scripture,  stands  for  lawless^  wicked  men.  So  the  rendering  of  the 
LXX.  is  7rec.Q»vo/iioi]  Vulg.  iniqui.  The  relative,  "lEJ'Xi  is  refeiTed  to  rniT't^) 
pits.,  by  many  persons,  as  Amyraldus,  who  thus  paraphrases  the  latter 
part  of  the  verse  :  *  At  retia  ilia,  cum  lege  tua  dix-ecte  pugnant.'  Others 
make  D>nT  the  antecedent,  of  whom  they  consider  the  second  hemistich 
as  descriptive.  The  proud.,  who  have  not  acted  according  to  thy  Law.,  have 
dug  pits  for  me.  The  sense  is  more  obvious,  according  to  this  latter 
exposition  ;  for  one  does  not  see  the  force  of  the  phrase,  '  digging  pits,' 
which  are  not  according  to  God's  Law,  as  if  pits  might  be  dug  which  are 
according  to  it." — Phillips. 

VOL.  IV.  2  G 


466  COMMENTARY  UPON  TSALM  CXIX. 

declares,  that  the  commandments  of  God  are  true ;  by  Avhich 
encomium  he  teaches  us,  that  those  who  rely  upon  the  Avord 
of  God  are  out  of  all  danger ;  and  he  lays  down  this  truth, 
that  such  a  support  may  always  sustain  our  courage.  In  the 
second  place,  he  complains  of  the  treachery  of  his  enemies, 
as  he  declared  before.  Here  the  word  ^p^,  sheker,  is  re- 
j)eated,  by  which  he  means,  that  they  had  no  regard  to  equity. 
From  this  consideration  also  he  was  led  to  entertain  the  hope 
of  deliverance ;  for  it  is  the  peculiar  office  of  God  to  succour 
the  poor  and  afflicted  who  are  Avrongfully  oppressed. 

87.  The?/  have  almost  consumed  me  upon  the  earth.  He  re- 
peats, in  somewhat  different  words,  what  he  had  spoken  a 
little  before,  that,  although  he  had  been  sorely  tempted,  he 
had  nevertheless  kept  his  footing,  because  he  had  not  given 
up  with  true  religion.  A  single  declaration  of  this  fact  would 
have  been  enough  for  those  who  are  perfect ;  but  if  we  call 
to  mind  our  own  weakness,  we  will  readily  confess  that  it 
was  not  unworthy  of  being  repeatedly  stated.  We  not  only 
forget  the  law  of  God  when  we  are  shaken  by  extreme  con- 
flicts, but  the  greater  part  lose  their  courage  even  before  they 
engage  in  the  conflict.  On  which  account  this  wonderful 
strength  of  the  prophet  is  worthy  of  more  special  notice,  who, 
although  almost  reduced  to  death,  yet  never  ceased  to  revive 
his  courage  by  continual  meditation  on  the  law.  Nor  is  it  in 
vain  that  he  adds,  that  it  was  upon  the  earth  that  his  enemies 
had  almost  consumed  him,  conveying  the  idea,  that,  when 
the  fears  of  death  presented  themselves  to  him  on  all  sides  in 
this  world,  he  elevated  his  mind  above  the  world.  If  faith 
reach  to  heaven,  it  Avill  be  an  easy  matter  to  emerge  from 
despair. 

88.  Quicken  me  according  to  thy  goodness.  This  verse  con- 
tains nothing  new.  In  the  beginning  of  it  David  represents 
his  life  as  depending  on  God's  mercy,  not  only  because  he 
was  conscious  of  human  frailty,  but  because  he  saw  himself 
daily  exposed  to  death  in  multiplied  forms,  or  rather  because 
he  was  convinced,  that  were  God's  power  withdrawn  from 
him,  he  would  be  laid  prostrate  as  if  he  were  dead.     He  next 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  467 

promises,  that  when  he  shall  be  again  restored  to  life  he  will 
not  be  ungrateful,  but  will  duly  acknowledge  this  as  a  bless- 
ing from  God,  and  that  not  only  with  the  tongue,  but  also  in 
his  whole  life.  As  the  various  instances  in  which  God  suc- 
cours us  and  delivers  us  from  dangers  are  so  many  new  lives, 
it  is  reasonable  that  we  should  dedicate  to  his  service  Avhat- 
ever  additional  time  is  allotted  to  us  in  this  world.  When 
the  law  is  called  the  testimony  of  God's  mouth,  by  this  eulogiuni 
its  authority  is  very  plainly  asserted. 

^  89.  Thy  word,  0  Jelwvah  !  endurethfor  ever  in  heaven. 

7  90.  Tky  truth  is  from  generation  to  generation :  thou  hast  established 
the  earth,  and  it  ahideth. 

p  91.  By  thy  judgments  they  continue  to  this  day ;  for  all  are  thy 
servants. 

7  92.  Had  not  thy  law  been  my  delight,  I  had  then  perished  in  my 
affliction. 

■)  93.  /  luill  never  forget  thy  statutes,  for  thou  hast  quickened  me  in 
them. 

^  94.  /  am  thine,  save  me ;  for  I  have  sought  thy  statutes. 

7  95.  The  wicked  wait  for  me  to  destroy  me :  but  I  consider  thy  testi- 
monies. 

^  96.  In  all 2^erfoction  I  have  seen  the  end:  thy  commandment  is  ex- 
ceeding broad. 

89.  Thy  word,  O  Jehovah  I  endareth  for  ever.  Many  ex- 
plain this  verse  as  if  David  adduced  the  stability  of  the 
heavens  as  a  proof  of  God's  truth.  According  to  them  the 
meaning  is,  that  God  is  proved  to  be  true,  because  th» 
heavens  continually  remain  in  the  same  state.^     Others  offer 

1  This  is  the  explanation  given  by  Walford.     His  translation  is  : — 

"  O  Jehovah !  for  ever 
Is  thy  word  established  in  the  heavens." 

Upon  which  he  observes  :  "  The  design  of  these  words  is  by  no  means 
obvious,  and  the  interpreters  vary  greatly  in  their  explications.  I  have 
not  met  with  any  explanation  that  is  altogether  satisfactory,  and  shall 
therefore  give  what  appears  to  me  to  be  the  true  meaning.  The  design, 
in  general,  of  the  Psalmist  is,  to  celebrate  the  immutability  of  the  word 
of  God  :  whatever  He  speaks  is  sure.  To  illustrate  this  position,  he  re- 
fers to  the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  of  the  earth ;  they  were  alike 
formed  by  tlie  word  of  God, — '  He  spake,  and  it  was  done.'    By  virtue 


468  COMMENTAEY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

a  Still  more  forced  interpretation,  That  God's  truth  is  more 
sure  than  the  state  of  the  heavens.  But  it  appears  to  me 
that  the  prophet  intended  to  convey  a  very  different  idea. 
As  we  see  nothing  constant  or  of  long  continuance  upon 
earth,  he  elevates  our  minds  to  heaven,  that  they  may  fix 
their  anchor  there.  David,  no  doubt,  might  have  said,  as  he 
has  done  in  many  other  places,  that  the  whole  order  of  the 
world  bears  testimony  to  the  stedfastness  cf  God's  word — 
that  word  which  is  most  true.  But  as  there  is  reason  to  fear 
that  the  minds  of  the  godly  would  hang  in  uncertainty  if  they 
rested  the  proof  of  God's  truth  upon  the  state  of  the  world, 
in  which  such  manifold  disorders  prevail ;  by  placing  God's 
truth  in  the  heavens,  he  allots  to  it  a  habitation  subject  to  no 
changes.  That  no  person  then  may  estimate  God's  word 
from  the  various  vicissitudes  which  meet  his  eye  in  this 
world,  heaven  is  tacitly  set  in  opposition  to  the  earth.  Our 
salvation,  as  if  it  had  been  said,  being  shut  up  in  God's  word, 
is  not  subject  to  change,  as  all  earthly  things  are,  but  is 
anchored  in  a  safe  and  peaceful  haven.  The  same  truth  the 
Prophet  Isaiah  teaches  in  somewhat  different  words  :  "  All 
flesh  is  grass,  and  all  the  goodliness  thereof  is  as  the  floAver  of 
the  field,"  (Isa.  xl.  6.)  He  means,  according  to  the  Apostle 
Peter's  exposition,  (1  Peter  i.  24,)  that  the  certainty  of  sal- 
vation is  to  be  sought  in  the  word,  and,  therefore,  that  they  do 
wrong  who  settle  their  minds  upon  the  world;  for  the 
stedfastness  of  God's  word  far  transcends  the  stability  of 
the  world. 

90.  Thy  truth  is  from  generation  to  generation.  In  this 
verse  the  Psalmist  repeats  and  confirms  the  same  sentiment. 
He  expressly  teaches,  that  although  the  faithful  live  for  a 
short  time  as  strangers  upon  earth,  and  soon  pass  away,  yet 
their  life  is  not  perishable,  since  they  are  begotten  again  of 
an  incorruptible  seed.      He,  however,  proceeds  stiU  farther. 

of  that  word  these  vast  productions  abide  through  all  ages,  so  that  the 
word  of  God  is  established  and  displayed  in  heaven  and  upon  earth. 
As  the  same  word  uttered  all  the  precepts  and  institutions  of  the  law, 
and  all  the  promises  of  the  covenant  of  mercy,  the  unchaugeableuess  of 
these  precepts  and  promises  is  verified  and  manifested  by  the  perpetual 
conservation  of  all  these  instances  of  physical  power  and  energy." 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  469 

He  had  before  enjoined  us  to  pierce  by  faith  into  heaven,  be- 
cause we  will  find  nothing  in  the  world  on  which  we  can 
assuredly  rest ;  and  now  he  again  teaches  us,  by  experience, 
that  though  the  world  is  subject  to  revolutions,  yet  in  it 
bright  and  signal  testimonies  to  the  truth  of  God  shine  forth, 
so  that  the  stedfastness  of  his  word  is  not  exclusively  con- 
fined to  heaven,  but  comes  down  even  to  us  who  dwell  upon 
the  earth.  For  this  reason,  it  is  added,  that  the  earth  con- 
tinues stedfast,  even  as  it  was  established  by  God  at  the 
beginning.  Lord,  as  if  it  had  been  said,  even  in  the  earth  we 
see  thy  truth  reflected  as  it  were  in  a  mirror ;  for  though 
it  is  suspended  in  the  midst  of  the  sea,  yet  it  continues  to  re- 
main in  the  same  state.  These  two  things,  then,  are  quite 
consistent;  first,  that  the  stedfastness  of  God's  word  is 
not  to  be  judged  of  according  to  the  condition  of  the  world, 
which  is  always  fluctuating,  and  fades  away  as  a  shadow ;  and, 
secondly,  that  yet  men  are  ungrateful  if  they  do  not  acknow- 
ledge the  constancy  which  in  many  respects  marks  the  frame- 
work of  the  world ;  for  the  earth,  which  otherwise  could  not 
occupy  the  position  it  does  for  a  single  moment,  abides  not- 
withstanding stedfast,  because  God's  word  is  the  foundation 
on  which  it  rests.  Farther,  no  person  has  any  ground  for 
objecting,  that  it  is  a  hard  thing  to  go  beyond  this  world  in 
quest  of  the  evidences  of  God's  truth,  since,  in  that  case,  it 
would  be  too  remote  from  the  apprehension  of  men.  The  pro- 
phet meets  the  objection  by  affirming,  that  although  it  dwells 
in  heaven,  yet  we  may  see  at  our  very  feet  conspicuous  proofs 
of  it,  which  may  gradually  advance  us  to  as  perfect  knowledge 
of  it  as  our  limited  capacity  will  permit.  Thus  the  prophet, 
on  the  one  hand,  exhorts  us  to  rise  above  the  whole  world  by 
faith,  so  that  the  word  of  God  may  be  found  by  experience 
to  be  adequate,  as  it  really  is  adequate,  to  sustain  our  faith ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  he  warns  us  that  we  have  no  excuse, 
if,  by  the  very  sight  of  the  earth,  we  do  not  discover  the 
truth  of  God,  since  legible  traces  of  it  are  to  be  found  at  our 
feet.  In  the  first  clause,  men  are  called  back  from  the 
vanity  of  their  own  understanding  ;  and,  in  the  other,  their 
weakness  is  relieved,  that  they  may  have  a  foretaste  upon 
earth  of  what  is  to  be  found  more  fully  in  heaven. 


470  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

91.  By  thy  judgments  they  continue  to  this  day.  The  word  DVHj 
hayom,  which,  following  other  interpreters,  I  have  translated 
to  this  rfay,  might  not  improperly  be  rendered  t/m'/?/,  or  euery  day. 
In  that  case,  however,  the  sense  would  be  substantially  the 
same ;  for  the  prophet  means,  that  the  whole  order  of  nature 
depends  solely  upon  the  commandment  or  decree  of  God. 
In  using  the  tevva  judgments,  he  makes  an  allusion  to  the  law, 
intimating,  that  the  same  regard  to  rectitude  which  is  exhibited 
in  the  law  is  brightly  displayed  in  every  part  of  God's  pro- 
cedure.     From  this  it  follows,  that  men  are  very  perverse, 
when,  by  their  unbelief,  they  do  what  they  can  to  shake  and 
impair  the  faithfulness  of  God,  upon  which  all  creatures  re- 
pose ;  and,  moreover,  when  by  their  rebellion  they  impeach 
'his  righteousness,  and  deny  the  authority  of  his  commands, 
upon  which  the  stability  of  the  whole  world  depends.    It  is  a 
harsh  manner  of  expression  to  say,  that  all  the  elements  are  God's 
servants ;  but  it  expresses  more  than  if  it  had  been  said,  that 
all  things  are  ready  to  yield  obedience  to  him.     How  can  we 
account  for  it,  that  the  air,  which  is  so  thin,  does  not  consume 
itself  by  blowing  incessantly?    How  can  we  account  for  it, 
-that  the  waters  do  not  waste  away  by  flowing,  but  on  the 
principle  that  these  elements  obey  the  secret  command  of 
God  ?    By  faith,  it  is  true,  we  perceive  that  the  continued 
.existence  of  the  world  is  owing  to  the  fiat  of  God ;  but  aU 
who  have  the  smallest  pretensions  to  understanding  are  led 
•to  the  same  conclusion,  from  the  manifest  and  undoubted 
proofs  of  this  truth,  which  every  where  meet  their  eye.     Let 
it   then  be  thoroughly  impressed  upon  our  minds,  that  all 
things  are  so  governed  and  maintained  by  the  secret  opera- 
itlon  of  God,  as  that  their  continuing  in  the  same  state  is  owing 
to  their  obeying  his  commandment  or  word.  We  must  always 
■remember  the  point  which  the  prophet  aims  at ;  which  is, 
that  God's  faithfulness,  which  shines  forth  in  his  external 
works,  may  gradually  conduct  us  higher,  until  we  attain  such 
a  persuasion  of  the  truth  of  heavenly  doctrine  as  Is  entirely 
free  from  doubt. 

P2.    Had  not  thy  law  been  my  delight.      The  prophet  con- 
tinues to  prosecute  almost  the  same  theme  ;  affirming,  that  he 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  471 

would  have  been  undone,  had  he  not  in  his  calamities  sought 
consolation  from  the  law  of  God.  The  adverb  ]i^,  az,  signi- 
fies then ;  but  as  it  is  sometimes  used  for  a  long  time,  it  is 
equivalent  here  to  long  ago ;  unless  some  may  prefer  to  con- 
sider it  as  a  significant  and  emphatic  pointing  to  the  thing, 
as  if  he  were  still  in  the  state  which  he  describes.  He  con- 
firms from  his  own  experience  what  he  had  previously  said,  to 
make  it  manifest  that  he  did  not  speak  of  things  with  which 
he  was  unacquainted,  but  that  he  asserts  what  he  had  really 
experienced, — namely,  that  there  is  no  other  solace,  and  no 
other  remedy  for  adversity,  but  our  reposing  upon  the  word 
of  God,  and  our  embracing  the  grace  and  the  assurance  of  our 
salvation  which  are  offered  in  it.  He  here  unquestionably 
commends  the  very  same  word,  which  he  had  but  now  said 
dwelt  in  heaven.  Though  it  resound  on  earth,  enter  into 
our  ears,  and  settle  in  our  hearts,  yet  it  still  retains  its 
celestial  nature ;  for  it  descends  to  us  in  such  a  manner,  as 
that  it  is  not  subject  to  the  changes  of  the  world.  The  pro- 
phet declares  that  he  was  grievously  oppressed  by  a  weight 
of  afHictions  enough  to  overwhelm  him  ;  but  that  the  conso- 
lation which  he  derived  from  the  Divine  Law,  in  such  desper- 
ate circumstances,  was  as  life  to  him. 

93.  /  toill  never  forget  thy  statutes.  This  verse  contains  a 
thanksgiving.  As  the  law  of  the  Lord  had  preserved  him, 
he  engages  that  he  will  never  forget  it.  Yet  he,  at  the 
same  time,  admonishes  himself  and  others  how  necessary  it 
is  to  cherish  in  the  heart  the  remembrance  of  the  Divine 
Law ;  for  though  we  have  found  from  experience  its  life-giving 
powei',  yet  we  easily  allow  it  to  pass  from  our  memories,  and 
on  this  account  God  afterwards  justly  punishes  us,  by  leaving 
us  for  a  long  time  to  languish  in  our  sadness. 

94.  I  am  thine,  save  me.  In  the  first  place,  he  takes  en- 
couragement to  pray  from  the  consideration,  that  he  is  one 
of  God's  own  stamp  and  coinage,  as  we  speak.  In  the  second 
place,  he  proves  that  he  is  God's  from  the  fact  of  his  keeping 
his  commandments.  This  ought  not,  however,  to  be  under- 
stood as  if  he  boasted  of  any  merit  which  he  possessed ;  as, 


472  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

in  dealing  with  men,  it  is  customary  to  adduce  something 
meritorious  which  we  have  done  as  an  argument  for  obtaining 
what  we  desire : — I  have  always  loved  and  esteemed  you,  I 
have  always  studied  to  promote  your  honour  and  advantage ; 
my  service  has  always  been  ready  at  your  command.     But 
David  rather  brings  forward  the  unmerited  grace  of  God, 
and  that  alone ;   for  no  man,  by  any  efforts  of  his  own,  ac- 
quires the  high  honour  of  being  under  the  protection  of  God 
— an  honour  which  proceeds  solely  from  his  free  adoption. 
The  blessing  which  God  had  conferred  upon  him  is  therefore 
here  adduced  as  an  argument  why  he  should  not  forsake  the 
work  which  he  had  commenced.     When  he  affirms,  that  he 
was  earnestly  intent  upon  the  Divine  commandments,  that  also 
depended  upon  the  Divine  calling ;  for  he  did  not  begin  to 
apply  his  mind  to  God's  commandments  before  he  was  called 
and  received  into  his  household.     As  he  desires,  in  this  verse, 
that  the  Lord  would  save  him,  so,  in  the  next  verse,  he  ex- 
presses the  need  he  had  of  being  saved,  saying,  that  the  wicked 
sought  for  him  to  destroy  him ;  by  which  he,  at  the  same  time, 
declares  the  constancy  of  his  godliness,  inasmuch  as  he  then 
set  his  mind  upon  the  law  of  God — a  point  worthy  of  special 
notice.     Those  who,  at  other  times,  would  be  forward  and 
willing  to  follow  God,  know  not  to  what  side  to  turn  them- 
selves when  they  are  assailed  by  the  wicked,  and,  in  that 
case,  are  very  prone  to  follow  unhallowed  counsel.     It  is 
therefore  a  great  virtue  to  do  God  the  honour  of  resting 
contented  with  his  promises  alone,  when  the  wicked  conspire 
for  our  destruction,  and  when,  to  all  human  appearance,  our 
life  is  in  jeopardy.     To  consider  God's  testimonies  is,  in  this 
place,  equivalent  to  applying  our  minds  to  the  word  of  God, 
which  sustains  us  against  all  assaults,  effectually  allays  all 
fears,  and  restrains  us  from  following  any  perverse  counsels. 

96.  In  all  perfection  I  have  seen  the  end}      The  prophet 

^  "  The  literal  trauslation  is,  to  the  whole  of  perfection  I  perceive  a  limit. 
The  Hebrew  word,  however,  which  is  rendered  hy  perfection,  occurs  only 
in  this  place.  It  seems  clearly  to  have  for  its  root  a  verb  signifying  to 
complete,  to  finish :  the  meaning  is,  '  to  every  created  thing,  however 
perfect,  I  see  a  boundary ;'  that  is,  it  is  limited  as  to  its  capability,  as 
well  as  to  its  duration." — Cressicell. 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  473 

again,  using  other  words,  commends  the  same  truth  -which 
he  had  taught  in  the  first  verse  of  this  part — that  the  word 
of  God  is  not  subject  to  change,  because  it  is  elevated  far 
above  the  perishable  elements  of  this  world.  He  here  asserts, 
that  there  is  nothing  under  heaven  so  perfect  and  stable,  or 
so  complete,  in  all  respects,  as  not  to  have  an  end  ;  and  that 
the  Divine  word  alone  possesses  such  amplitude  as  to  surpass 
all  bounds  and  limits.  Since  the  verb  H/^j  kalah,  signifies 
to  consume  andjinish,  as  well  as  to  make  perfect,  some  take  the 
noun  ri/^rij  tichelah,  for  measure  or  end.  But  it  is  necessary 
to  translate  it  perfection,  that  the  comparison  may  be  the 
more  apparent,  and  the  better  to  amplify  the  faithfulness  of 
the  Divine  word ;  the  idea  which  the  prophet  intended  to 
convey  being,  that,  after  he  had  considered  all  things,  espe- 
cially those  which  are  distinguished  by  the  greatest  perfection, 
he  found  that  they  were  nothing  when  compared  with  God's 
word,  inasmuch  as  all  other  things  will  soon  come  to  an  end, 
whereas  the  word  of  God  stands  ever  firm  in  its  own  eternity.* 
Whence  it  follows,  that  we  have  no  ground  for  apprehending 
that  it  will  forsake  us  in  the  midst  of  our  course.  It  is 
termed  broad,  to  denote  that,  though  a  man  may  mount 
above  the  heavens,  or  descend  into  the  lowest  depths,  or 
traverse  the  whole  space  from  the  right  to  the  left  hand,  yet 
he  will  not  reach  farther  than  the  truth  of  God  conducts  us. 
It  remains  that  our  minds  should  embrace  this  vast  extent ; 
and  such  will  be  the  case  when  they  shall  have  ceased  to 
enclose  and  shut  themselves  up  within  the  narrow  limits  of 
this  world. 

)3     97.  0  how  have  I  loved  thy  law  !  it  is  my  meditation  all  the  day. 

O  98.  Thou  hast  made  me  wiser  than  my  adversaries  hy  thy  com- 
mandments :  for  they  are  ever  with  me. 

12  99.  Thou  hast  made  me  to  know  more  than  all  my  teachers ;  for 
thy  testimonies  are  my  meditation. 

^  "  All  human  things,  however  full,  perfect,  and  admirable,  are  neces- 
sarily deficient  and  mutable ;  but  the  law  of  God,  like  the  nature  of  him 
from  whom  it  proceeds,  endureth  for  ever,  and  is  in  all  respects  complete 
and  unalterable.  We  are  to  understand  by  the  law  here,  the  whole  re- 
vealed will  of  God,  comprehensive  of  promise  as  well  as  precept." — 
Walford, 


474  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

D  100.  I  excelled  the  aged  in  understanding ;  for  I  have  kept  thy 

statutes, 
j^  101.  I  have  restrained  my  feet  from  every  evil  path,  that  I  may 

keep  thy  word. 
)2  102.  I  have  riot  declined  from  thy  judgments ;  for  thou  hast  taught 

me. 
D  103.  0  how  sweet  have  been  thy  words  to  my  palate  !  sweeter  than 

honey  to  my  mouth  ! 
•Q  104.  By  thy  statutes  I  have  acquired  understanding;  therefore  I 

have  hated  every  false  way. 

97.  O  how  have  I  loved  thy  law  !  Not  contented  with  a 
simple  affirmation,  the  prophet  exclaims,  by  way  of  interroga- 
tion, that  he  was  inflamed  with  incredible  love  to  the  law  of 
God  ;  and,  in  proof  of  this,  he  adds,  that  he  was  continually 
engaged  in  meditating  upon  it.  If  any  person  boasts  that 
he  loves  the  Divine  Law,  and  yet  neglects  the  study  of  it, 
and  applies  his  mind  to  other  things,  he  betrays  the  grossest 
hypocrisy ;  for  the  love  of  the  law,  and  especially  such  an 
ardent  love  of  it  as  the  prophet  here  expresses,  always  pro- 
duces continual  meditation  upon  it.  And,  assuredly,  unless 
God's  law  Inflame  and  ravish  our  hearts  with  the  love  of  it, 
many  allurements  will  quickly  steal  upon  us,  and  lead  us 
away  to  vanity.  The  prophet,  then,  here  commends  such  a 
love  of  the  law,  as,  possessing  all  our  senses,  effectually 
excludes  all  the  deceits  and  corruptions  to  which  we  are 
otherwise  too  much  inclined. 

98.  Thou  hast  made  me  tviser  than  my  adversaries.  He  here 
declares,  that  he  was  more  learned  than  his  adversaries,  his 
instructors,  and  the  aged,  because  he  was  a  scholar  of  God's 
law.  It  is  in  a  different  sense  that  he  describes  himself  as 
endued  with  understanding  above  his  adversaries,  from  that 
in  which  he  describes  himself  as  wiser  than  his  teachers.  He 
surpassed  his  enemies,  because  their  cunning  and  artifices 
availed  them  nothing  when  they  employed  these  to  the  ut- 
most to  effect  his  destruction.  The  malice  of  the  wicked  is 
always  goading  them  to  do  mischief;  and  as  they  are  often 
artful  and  deceitful,  we  are  afraid  lest  our  simplicity  should 
be  imposed  upon  by  their  deceits,  unless  we  use  the  same 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  FSALMS.  475 

crafts  and  underhand  dealings  which  they  practise.  Accord- 
ingly, the  prophet  glories,  that  he  found  in  God's  law  enough 
to  enable  him  to  esca23e  all  their  snares.  When  he  claims 
the  credit  of  being  superior  in  knowledge  to  his  instructors, 
he  does  not  mean  to  deny  that  they  also  had  learned  from 
the  word  of  God  what  was  useful  to  be  known.  But  he  gives 
God  thanks  for  enabling  him  to  surpass,  in  proficiency,  those 
from  whom  he  had  learned  the  first  elements  of  know- 
ledge.^ Nor  is  it  any  new  thing  for  the  scholar  to  excel 
his  master,  according  as  God  distributes  to  each  man  the 
measure  of  understanding.  The  faithful,  it  is  true,  are 
instructed  by  the  pains  and  labour  of  men,  but  it  is  in  such 
a  way,  as  that  God  is  still  to  be  regarded  as  enlightening 
them.  And  it  is  owing  to  this  that  the  scholar  surpasses 
the  master ;  for  God  means  to  show,  as  it  were,  with  the 
finger,  that  he  uses  the  service  of  men  in  such  a  way  as  that 
he  himself  continues  still  the  chief  teacher.  Let  us  therefore 
learn  to  commit  ourselves  to  his  tuition,  that  we  may  glory 
with  David,  that  by  his  guidance  we  have  proceeded  farther 
than  man's  instruction  could  lead  us.  He  adds  the  same 
thing  respecting  the  aged,  for  the  more  abundant  confirmation 
of  his  statement.  Age  is  of  great  avail  in  polishing,  by  long 
experience  and  practice,  men  who,  by  nature,  are  dull  and 
rude.  Now  the  prophet  asserts,  that  he  had  acquired,  by 
the  Divine  Law,  more  discretion  than  belongs  to  aged  men.^ 
In  short,  he  means  to  affirm,  that  whoever  yields  himself 
with  docility  to  God,  keeps  his  thoughts  in  subjection  to  his 
word,  and  exercises  himself  diligently  in  meditating  upon  the 
Law,  will  thence  derive  wisdom  sufficient  for  enabling  him 
to  consult  his  own  safety  in  opposition  to  the  stratagems  of 
his  enemies,  to  exercise  circumspection  requisite  for  escaping 

1  "  As  he  had  entered  into  the  spiritual  nature  of  the  law  of  God,  and 
saw  into  the  exceeding  breadth  of  the  commandment,  he  soon  became 
wiser  than  any  of  t\\Q  priests^  or  even  prophets  who  instructed  him." — Dr 
Adam  Clarke. 

2  "  7  understand  more  than  the  ancients.  God  had  revealed  to  him  more 
of  that  hidden  wisdom,  which  was  in  his  law,  than  he  had  done  to  any  of 
his  predecessors.  And  this  was  most  litei'ally  true  of  David,  who  spoke 
more  fully  about  Christ  than  any  who  had  gone  before  him  ;  or,  indeed, 
followed  after  him.  His  compositions  are,  I  had  almost  said,  a  sublime 
gospel." — Ibid. 


476  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

their  deceits ;  and,  finally,  to  match  with  the  most  eminent 
masters  through  the  whole  course  of  his  life.  David,  how- 
ever, does  not  adduce  his  wisdom,  that  he  may  boast  of  it 
before  the  worl(3 ;  but,  by  his  own  example,  he  warns  us, 
that  nothing  is  better  for  us  than  to  learn  at  God's  mouth, 
since  those  only  are  perfectly  wise  who  are  taught  in  his 
school.  At  the  same  time,  sobriety  is  here  enjoined  upon  the 
faithful,  that  they  may  not  seek  for  wisdom  elsewhere  than 
from  God's  word,  and  that  ambition  or  curiosity  may  not 
incite  them  to  vain  boasting.  In  short,  all  are  here  recom- 
mended to  behave  themselves  with  modesty  and  humility, 
that  no  man  may  claim  to  himself  such  knowledge  as  elevates 
him  above  the  Divine  LaAv  ;  but  that  all  men,  however  in- 
telligent, may  willingly  yield  themselves  to  the  lessons  of 
heavenly  wisdom  revealed  in  the  Divine  Word.  When  he 
says,  that  he  kept  God's  statutes,  he  teaches  us  what  kind  of 
meditation  it  is  of  which  we  have  spoken,  to  let  us  know  that 
he  did  not  coldly  philosophise  upon  God's  precepts,  but  devoted 
himself  to  them  with  earnest  affection. 

101.  I  have  restrained  my  feet  from  every  evil  path.  He 
intimates  that  he  proclaimed  war  against  every  vice,  that 
he  might  wholly  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  God.  From 
this  we  learn  the  profitable  lesson,  that  in  order  to  our  keep- 
ing God's  Law,  we  must,  from  the  commencement,  beware 
lest  our  feet  should  step  aside  into  crooked  by-paths  ;  for  with 
a  nature  so  corrupted  as  ours  is,  amidst  so  many  allurements, 
and  with  minds  so  fickle,  we  are  in  the  greatest  danger  of 
being  led  astray  ;  yea,  it  is  a  rare  miracle  if  any  man  hold  on 
in  his  life  in  a  right  course,  without  turning  aside  in  one  direc- 
tion or  another.  The  faithful,  therefore,  have  need  to  exer- 
cise the  greatest  circumspection,  in  order  to  keep  their  feet 
from  going  astray. 

In  the  next  verse,  David  commends  his  own  constancy 
in  observing  the  Law.  He  declares  that  ever  since  he 
had  learned  from  God  the  right  manner  of  living,  he  had 
pursued  the  right  course.  As  the  way  is  so  slippery,  and 
our  feet  so  feeble,  and  our  whole  disposition  so  prone 
to  go  astray  after  innumerable  errors,  no  small  exertions 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  477 

are  requisite  on  our  part,  in  order  to  avoid  declining  from 
God's  judgments.  But  we  must  attend  to  the  manner  of 
teaching  to  which  the  Psalmist  refers  ;  for  though  all,  with- 
out exception,  to  whom  God's  word  is  preached,  are  taught, 
yet  scarce  one  in  ten  so  much  as  tastes  it ;  yea,  scarce  one  in 
a  hundred  profits  to  the  extent  of  being  enabled,  thereby,  to 
proceed  in  a  right  course  to  the  end.  A  peculiar  manner  of 
teaching  is,  therefore,  here  pointed  out — that  which  consists 
in  God's  drawing  his  chosen  people  to  himself.  I  have  been 
brought,  as  if  the  Psalmist  had  said,  into  the  way  of  salvation, 
and  preserved  in  it  by  the  secret  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

103.  O  how  sweet  have  been  thy  words  to  my  palate  !  He 
again  repeats  what  he  had  previously  stated  in  different  words, 
that  he  was  so  powerfully  attracted  by  the  sweetness  of  the 
Divine  Law,  as  to  have  no  desire  after  any  other  delight.  It 
is  possible  that  a  man  may  be  affected  with  reverence  towards 
the  Law  of  God  ;  but  no  one  will  cheerfully  follow  it,  save 
he  who  has  tasted  this  sweetness.  God  requires  from  us  no 
slavish  service  :  he  will  have  us  to  come  to  him  cheerfidly, 
and  this  is  the  very  reason  why  the  prophet  commends  the 
sweetness  of  God's  word  so  often  in  this  psalm.  If  it  is  de- 
manded in  what  sense  he  declares  that  he  took  such  sweet 
delight  in  God's  Law,  which,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
Paul,  (1  Cor.  iii.  9,)  does  nothing  else  but  strike  fear  into 
men,  the  solution  is  easy  :  The  prophet  does  not  speak  of  the 
dead  letter  which  kills  those  who  read  it,  but  he  comprehends 
the  whole  doctrine  of  the  Law,  the  chief  part  of  which  is  the 
free  covenant  of  salvation.  When  Paul  contrasts  the  Law 
with  the  Gospel,  he  speaks  only  of  the  commandments  and 
threatenings.  Now  if  God  were  only  to  command,  and  to 
denounce  the  curse,  the  whole  of  his  communication  would, 
undoubtedly,  be  deadly.  But  the  prophet  is  not  here  op- 
posing the  Law  to  the  Gospel ;  and,  therefore,  he  could 
affirm  that  the  grace  of  adoption,  which  is  offered  in  the  Law, 
was  sweeter  to  him  than  honey ;  that  is  to  say,  that  no  de- 
light was  to  him  equal  to  this.  What  I  have  previously  said 
must  be  remembered,  that  the  Law  of  God  will  be  unsavoury 
to  us,  or,  at  least,  that  it  will  never  be  so  sweet  to  us,  as  to 


478  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

Avithdraw  us  from  the  pleasures  of  the  flesh,  until  we  have 
struggled  manfully  against  our  own  nature,  in  order  to  sub- 
due the  carnal  affections  which  prevail  within  us. 

104.  By  thy  statutes  I  haiie  acquired  understanding.      Tlie 
prophet  seems  here  to  invert  the  order  he  has  just  now  laid 
down.     He  observed  that  he  had  kept  his  feet  from  going 
astray,  that  he  might  observe  God's  Law,  and  now  he  insti- 
tutes a  contrary  order,  beginning  with  the  observance  of  the 
Law  ;  for  he  declares  that  he  had  been  taught  by  the  word 
of  God  before  he  amended  his  faults.  Yet  these  two  things  are 
not  inconsistent, — that  the  faithful  should  withdraw  them- 
selves from    their  wanderings,  in  order  to  frame  their   life 
according  to  the  rule  of  God's  word,  and  that  when  they 
are  already  advanced  a  considerable  Avay  in  a  holy  life,  the 
fear  of  God  being  then  more  vigorous  in  them,  they  should 
regard  all  vices  with  more  intense  hatred.     The  beginning 
of  a  good  life,  unquestionably,  is  when  a  man   endeavours 
to  purge  himself  from  vices  ;  and  the  more  a  man  has  made 
progress  in  a  good  life,  he  will  burn  with  a  proportionate 
zeal   in   his    detestation    of  vices    and   in    shunning   them. 
Moreover,  we  are  taught  by  the  words  of  the  prophet,  that 
the  reason  why  men  are  so  involved  in  falsehoods,  and  en- 
tangled in  perverse   errors,  is,  because  they  have  not  learned 
wisdom  from  the  word  of  God.      As  the  whole  world  are 
given  to  folly,  those  who  wander  astray  plead  in  excuse,  that 
it  is  difficult  for  them  to  guard  against  the  allurements  of 
vice.     But  the  remedy  will  be  near  at  hand,  if  we  follow  the 
counsel  of  the  prophet ;  that  is  to  say,  if,  instead  of  leaning 
on  our  own  wisdom,  we  seek  understanding  from  the  word  of 
God,  in  which  he  not  only  shows  what  is  right,  but  also  forti- 
fies our  minds,  and  puts  us  on  our  guard  against  all  the  deceits 
of  Satan,  and  all  the  impostures  of  the  world.    Would  to  God 
that,  at  the  present  day,  this  were  thoroughly  impressed  on 
the  minds  of  all  who  boast  themselves  of  being  Christians;  for 
then  they  would  not  be  continually  driven  about,  as  the  greater 
part  of  them  are,  with  such  inconstancy,  according  to  the 
conflicting  impulses  of  prevailing  opinions.     As  Satan  is  so 
sediUously  exerting  himself  to  spread  abroad  the  mists  of  error, 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  479 

let  us  apply   ourselves  with  the  greater  earnestness  to  the 
acquisition  of  this  wisdom. 

3    105.  Thj  loord  is  a  lamp  to  my  feet,  and  a  light  to  my  path. 
3   106.  I  have  sworn,  and  ivill  perform,  to  Jceep  thy  righteous  judg- 
ments. 
3   107.  lam  greatly  afflicted,  0  Jehovah!  quicken  me  according  to 

thy  word. 
3   108.  0  Jehovah!  I  heseech  thee  let  the  free-will-offerings  of  my 

moutli  be  acceptable  to  thee,  and  teach  me  thy  judgments. 
3   109.  My  soul  is  continually  in  my  hand  ;  and  I  have  riot  forgotten 

thy  law. 
3  110.  The  wicked  have  laid  a  snare  for  me ;  and  I  have  not  erred 

from  thy  statutes. 
3   111.  I  have  thy  testimonies  as  an  inheritance  for  ever ;  for  they  are 

the  joy  of  my  heart. 
3   112.  /  have  inclined  my  heart  to  perform  thy  statutes  for  ever  to  the 

end. 

105.  Thy  word  is  a  lamp  to  viy  feet.  In  this  verse  the 
Psalmist  testifies  that  the  Divine  Law  was  his  schoolmaster 
and  guide  in  leading  a  holy  life.  He  thus,  by  his  own  example, 
prescribes  the  same  rule  to  us  all ;  and  it  is  highly  necessary 
to  observe  this  rule  ;  for  while  each  of  us  follows  what  seems 
good  in  his  own  estimation,  we  become  entangled  in  inextri- 
cable and  frightful  mazes.  The  more  distinctly  to  understand 
his  intention,  it  is  to  be  noted,  that  the  word  of  God  is  set  in 
opposition  to  all  human  counsels.  What  the  world  judges 
right  is  often  crooked  and  perverse  in  the  judgment  of  God, 
who  approves  of  no  other  manner  of  living,  than  that  which 
is  framed  according  to  the  rule  of  his  law.  It  is  also  to  be 
observed,  that  David  could  not  have  been  guided  by  God's 
word,  unless  he  had  first  renounced  the  wisdom  of  the  flesh, 
for  it  is  only  when  we  are  brought  to  do  this,  that  we  begin 
to  be  of  a  teachable  disposition.  But  the  metaphor  which 
he  uses  implies  something  more  ;  namely,  that  unless  the 
word  of  God  enlighten  men's  path,  the  whole  of  their  life  is 
enveloped  in  darkness  and  obscurity,  so  that  they  cannot  do 
anything  else  than  miserably  wander  from  the  right  way  ; 
and  again,  that  Avhen  we  submit  ourselves  with  docility  to  the 


480  COMMENTAllY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

teaching  of  God's  law,  we  are  In  no  danger  of  going  astray. 
Were  there  such  obscurity  in  God's  word,  as  the  Papists 
foolishly  talk  about,  the  commendation  with  which  the  pro- 
phet here  honours  the  law  would  be  altogether  undeserved. 
Let  us,  then,  be  assured  that  an  unerring  light  is  to  be  found 
there,  provided  we  open  our  eyes  to  behold  it.  The  Apostle 
Peter  (2  Epist.  i.  19)  has  more  plainly  expressed  the  same 
sentiment,  when  he  commends  the  faithful  for  taking  heed 
to  the  word  of  prophecy,  "  as  unto  a  light  that  shineth  in 
a  dark  place." 

106.  I  have  sworn,  and  will  perform.  Here  the  Psalmist 
speaks  of  his  own  constancy.  He  had  declared  a  little  before, 
that  during  the  whole  course  of  his  life,  he  had  not  declined 
from  God's  law,  and  now  he  speaks  of  the  purpose  of  his 
mind.  By  the  word  swear,  he  intimates  that  he  had  solemnly 
pledged  himself  to  God  not  to  alter  his  determination.  The 
true  manner  of  keeping  God's  law  is  to  receive  and  embrace 
what  he  commands  heartily,  and,  at  the  same  time,  uniformly, 
that  our  ardour  may  not  forthwith  abate,  as  is  often  the  case. 
This  also  is  the  proper  rule  of  vowing,  that  we  may  offer  our- 
selves to  God,  and  dedicate  our  life  to  him.  It  may,  however, 
be  asked,  whether  the  prophet's  oath  may  not  be  condemned 
as  rash,  inasmuch  as  he  presumed  to  engage  to  do  far  more 
than  man's  ability  is  equal  to ;  for  who  is  able  to  keep  the 
law  ?  The  man,  then,  it  may  be  alleged,  vom^s  rashly,  who 
promises  to  God  a  thing  which  it  is  beyond  his  power  to 
accomplish.  The  answer  is  obvious  :  Whenever  the  faithful 
vow  to  Him,  they  do  not  look  to  what  they  are  able  to  do  of 
themselves,  but  they  depend  upon  the  grace  of  God,  to 
whom  it  belongs  to  perform  what  he  requires  from  them,  in 
the  way  of  supplying  them  with  strength  by  his  Holy  Spirit. 
When  the  question  is  in  reference  to  service  to  be  rendered 
to  God,  they  cannot  vow  anything  without  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
for,  as  Paul  says  in  2  Cor.  iii.  5,  "  Not  that  we  are  sufficient 
of  ourselves  to  think  anything  as  of  ourselves."  But  when 
God  stretches  forth  his  hand  to  us,  he  bids  us  be  of  good  cour- 
age, and  promises  that  he  will  never  fail  us  ;  and  this  is  the 
source  from  which  the  boldness  to  swear,  here  spoken  of, 


PSALM  CXIX.  TELE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  "^8^ 

proceeds.  Nor  is  it  any  rashness  at  all,  when,  confiding  in 
his  promises,  by  which  he  anticipates  us,  we,  on  our  part, 
offer  ourselves  to  his  service.  The  question,  however,  still 
remains  unsolved;  for  although  the  children  of  God  ulti- 
mately prove  victorious  over  all  temptations  by  the  grace  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  yet  there  is  always  some  infirmity  about  them. 
But  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  faithful,  in  making  vows 
and  promises,  have  a  respect  not  only  to  that  article  of  the 
covenant,  by  which  God  has  promised  that  he  will  cause  us 
to  walk  in  his  commandments,  but  also  to  that  other  article 
which  is,  at  the  same  time,  added  concerning  the  free  for- 
giveness of  their  sins,  Ezek.  xi.  20;  xxxvi.  27  ;  Ps.  ciii.  13. 
David,  therefore,  according  to  the  measure  of  grace  given 
him,  bound  himself  by  oath  to  keep  God's  law,  encouraged 
by  these  words  of  the  prophet,  "  I  will  spare  them,  as  a  man 
spare th  his  own  son  that  serveth  him,"  Mai.  iii.  17. 

107.  I  am  greatly  afflicted,  O  Jeliovah  !  This  verse  teaches, 
that  God  did  not  cherish  the  fathers  under  the  law  in  his 
bosom  so  delicately  as  not  to  exercise  them  with  grievous 
temptations  ;  for  the  Psalmist  declares  that  he  was  not  afflict- 
ed lightly,  or  in  an  ordinary  degree,  but  above  measure.  His 
prayer  to  he  quickened  implies  that  he  was  at  the  point  of 
death.  He,  however,  at  the  same  time,  shows,  that  though 
he  was  besieged  by  death,  he  yet  fainted  not,  because  he 
leaned  upon  God — a  point  worthy  of  special  notice;  for 
though,  at  the  beginning,  we  may  call  upon  God  with  much 
alacrity,  yet  when  the  trial  increases  in  severity,  our  hearts 
quail,  and,  in  the  extremity  of  fear,  our  confidence  is  extin- 
guished. Yet  the  prophet  implores  God  for  grace,  not  in 
order  to  his  life  being  preserved  in  safety,  but  in  order  to  his 
recovering  the  life  he  had  lost,  which  indicates  both  the 
low  condition  to  which  he  was  reduced,  and  his  continued 
confidence  in  God.  We  must  also  observe  attentively  the 
last  part  of  the  clause,  according  to  thy  word.  We  will  pray 
coldly,  or  rather  we  will  not  pray  at  all,  if  God's  promise 
does  not  inspire  us  with  courage  in  our  sorrow  and  distress. 
In  short,  as  we  have  said  elsewhere,  it  is  indispensably  neces- 
VOL.  IV.  2  H 


482  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

sary  that  we  should  have  this  key  at  hand,  in  order  to  our 
having  free  access  to  the  throne  of  grace. 

108.  O  Jehovah  !  I  beseech  thee,  let  the  free-will-offerings  of 
my  mouth.  This  verse  may  be  I'ead  in  one  connected  sentence, 
as  well  as  divided  into  two  members.  Accordino;  to  the  for- 
mer  view,  the  sense  wall  be.  Receive,  O  Lord,  ray  sacrifices, 
to  this  end,  that  thou  mayest  teach  me  thy  commandments. 
If  we  prefer  dividing  the  verse  into  two  clauses,  then  it  will 
consist  of  two  separate  prayers ;  first,  a  prayer  that  God 
would  accept  the  prophet's  sacrifices ;  and,  secondly,  a  prayer 
that  he  would  instruct  him  in  the  doctrine  of  the  law\  I  am 
rather  inclined  to  follow  the  first  opinion.  The  prophet 
affirms,  as  we  have  seen  elsewhere,  that  nothing  was  more 
precious  to  him  than  to  understand  the  doctrine  of  the  law^ 
Lord,  as  if  he  had  said,  do  thou,  according  to  thy  good 
pleasure,  accept  the  sacrifices  which  I  offer  thee ;  and  as  my 
chief  desire  is,  to  be  instructed  aright  in  thy  law,  grant  that 
I  may  be  a  partaker  of  this  blessing,  which  I  am  so  anxious 
to  obtain.  We  should  mark  all  the  places  in  which  the  know- 
ledge of  divine  truth  is  preferred  to  all  the  other  benefits  be- 
stowed upon  mankind ;  and  doubtless,  since  it  contains  in  it 
the  pledge  of  everlasting  salvation,  there  is  good  reason 
why  it  should  be  esteemed  as  an  inestimable  treasure.  Yet 
the  prophet  begins  at  a  point  remote  from  this,  praying  that 
God  would  vouchsafe  to  approve  of  and  accept  his  services. 
By  the  word  Tlimij  nidboth,  I  have  no  doubt  he  denotes  the 
sacrifices  which  were  ca\\edfree-will-offerinffs.  I  indeed  grant 
that  he  speaks  properly  of  vows  and  prayers ;  but  as  the 
chosen  people,  to  propitiate  God,  were  wont  to  oflfer  sacrifices, 
according  as  every  man  had  ability,  he  alludes  to  that  custom 
which  prevailed  under  the  law  ;  even  as  Hosea  (chap.  xiv.  2) 
designates  the  praises  of  God  "  the  calves  of  the  lips."  It  was 
the  design  of  God,  by  that  ceremony,  to  testify  to  the  fathers 
that  no  prayers  were  acceptable  to  him,  but  those  which  were 
joined  with  sacrifice,  that  they  might  always  turn  their  minds 
to  the  Mediator.  In  the  first  place,  he  acknowledges  that  he 
was  unworthy  of  obtaining  any  thing  by  his  prayers,  and  that, 
if  God  heard  him,  it  proceeded  from  his  free  and  unmerited 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  483 

grace.  In  the  second  place,  lie  desires  that  God  would  be 
favourable  to  him  in  the  way  of  enabling  him  to  profit  aright 
in  the  doctrine  of  the  law.  The  verb  H^ilj  ratsah,  Avhich  he 
uses,  signifies  tofaoour  of  mere  good  will.  Whence  it  follows, 
that  there  is  nothing  meritorious  in  our  prayers,  and  that, 
whenever  God  hears  them,  it  is  in  the  exercise  of  his  free 
goodness. 

109.  My  soul  is  continually  in  my  hand.  He  declares,  that 
no  calamities,  afflictions,  or  dangers,  which  he  had  experi- 
enced, had  withdrawn  him  from  the  service  of  God,  and  the 
observance  of  his  law\  To  bear  his  soul  in  his  hand,  is  equi- 
valent to  his  being  in  danger  of  his  life,  so  that  the  soul  was, 
as  it  were,  abandoned  to  the  wind.  Thus  Job,  (chap.  xiii. 
14,)  when  he  pines  in  his  miseries,  and  is  looking  for  death 
every  moment,  and  dreading  it,  complains  that  his  soul  was 
in  his  hand ;  as  if  he  had  said,  It  is  plucked  from  its  own 
dwelling-place,  and  is  under  the  dominion  of  death. ^  This 
form  of  expression  is  therefore  unhappily  wrested  to  an  absurd 
meaning  by  ignorant  people,  who  understand  the  prophet  as 

'  This  proverbial  expression  occurs  in  several  other  places  of  Scrip- 
ture, in  all  of  which  it  undoubtedly  signifies,  that  the  life  of  the  person 
who  employs  it  is  in  danger ;  as  in  Judges  xii.  3,  "  And  when  I  saw 
that  JO  delivered  me  not,  /  put  my  life  in  my  hands,  and  passed  over 
against  the  children  of  Ammon  ;"  1  Sam.  xix.  5,  "  He  put  his  life  in  his 
liand,  and  slew  the  Philistines  ;"  and  1  Sam.  xxviii.  21,  "  And  the  woman 
came  unto  Saul,  and  said,  /  have  put  my  life  in  my  hand.''''  Phillips  thus 
explains  the  figure  :  "  We  are  accustomed  to  say,  that  an  affair  is  in  a 
person's  hands  when  the  management  and  issue  of  it  rest  entirelj^  with 
him,  and  so  we  speak  when  that  affair  is  the  life  or  death  of  an  individual. 
Hence,  similarly,  when  the  Hebrews  spoke  of  a  person's  life  being  in  his 
own  hands,  they  might  mean,  that  the  preservation  of  his  life  was  en- 
tirely with  him,  that  he  was  destitute  of  all  external  assistance,  and  that 
consequently  his  life  was  in  danger.  This  is  particularly  the  case  with 
military  men,  who,  as  they  fight  bravely,  or  otherwise,  may  preserve  or 
lose  their  lives  :  so  Jephthah,  as  appears  from  the  passages  above  cited." 
The  figure  may,  however,  be  taken  from  the  circumstance,  that  what  a 
man  carries  openly  in  his  hand  is  in  danger  of  falling,  or  of  being  snatched 
away  by  violence.  "  The  LXX.  have  changed  the  person  of  the  pronoun, 
iv  rulg  x^^oi  aov,  in  thy  hands ;  as  also  the  Syriac.  It  is  probable  that 
these  ancient  interpreters  did  not  understand  the  phrase,  and  so  expressed 
it  according  to  Avhat  they  thought  might  be  the  original  reading,  thus 
affording  a  very  obvious  sense.  Augustine  says,  that  many  MSS.  in  his 
time  had  the  second  person.  However,  no  such  MSS.  are  known  now, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  whatever  of  the  correctness  of  the  present  text.  The 
Psalmist  states  that,  though  his  life  was  in  danger,  yet  he  did  not  forget 
God's  law."~/i/rf. 


484  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

intimating,  that  it  was  in  his  own  power  to  govern  his  life  as 
he  pleased.  So  far  from  intending  to  convey  such  an  idea, 
by  this  circumstance  he  commends  his  own  piety,  declaring, 
that  although  he  was  tossed  among  shipwrecks,  and  death  in 
a  hundred  forms  hovered  before  his  eyes,  so  that  he  could  not 
rest  in  security  for  a  single  moment,  yet  he  had  not  cast  from 
him  the  love  and  study  of  the  Divine  law.  Here,  again,  it  is 
well  to  notice  the  severe  and  arduous  conflicts  by  which  the 
fathers,  under  the  law,  were  tried,  that  dangers  and  fears 
may  not  frighten  us,  or,  by  the  weariness  they  produce,  de- 
prive us  of  courage,  and  thus  prevent  the  remembrance  of  the 
Divine  law  from  remaining  impressed  on  our  hearts. 

110.  The  wicked  have  laid  a  snare  for  me.  The  meaning 
of  this  verse  is  similar  to  that  of  the  preceding.  The  pro- 
phet shows  more  definitely  in  what  respect  he  carried  his  life 
in  his  hand  ;  namely,  because,  being  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by 
the  snares  of  the  wicked,  he  saw  scarcely  any  hope  of  life. 
We  have  previously  observed  how  difficult  it  is  to  avoid 
wandering  from  the  ways  of  the  Lord,  when  our  enemies,  by 
their  subtle  arts,  endeavour  to  efiect  our  destruction.  The 
depraved  desire  of  our  fallen  nature  incites  us  to  retaliate, 
nor  do  we  see  any  way  of  preserving  our  life,  unless  we 
employ  the  same  arts  by  which  they  assail  us ;  and  we  per- 
suade ourselves  that  it  is  lawful  for  us  to  howl  among  wolves. 
Such  being  the  case,  we  ought,  with  the  more  attention,  to 
meditate  upon  this  doctrine,  That,  when  the  wicked  environ 
and  besiege  us  by  their  wiles,  the  best  thing  we  can  do  is  to 
follow  whither  God  calls  us,  and  to  attempt  nothing  but 
what  is  agreeable  to  his  will. 


"to" 


111.  I  have  thy  testimonies  as  an  inheritance  for  ever.  He 
again  confirms  the  sentiment,  which  cannot  be  too  often  re- 
peated, That  the  law  of  God  was  more  precious  to  him  than  all 
the  pleasures,  riches,  and  possessions,  of  the  world.  I  have  said, 
that  it  is  not  in  vain  that  these  things  are  so  often  repeated ; 
for  we  see  how  violently  the  men  of  the  world  boil  to  gratify 
their  unruly  lusts,  with  what  multiplied  anxieties  they  are  agi- 
tated, while  they  are  unceasingly  coveting  innumerable  objects ; 
and,  in  the  meantime,  scarcely  one  in  a  hundred  is,  in  a  mo- 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  485 

derate  degree,  aiming  to  apply  his  mind  to  the  study  of  the 
Divine  law.  The  prophet,  then,  to  stir  us  up  by  his  own 
example,  asserts,  that  he  took  such  pleasure  in  God's  testi- 
monies as  to  esteem  nothing  more  precious.  It  is  love  only 
which  leads  us  to  set  a  value  on  any  object ;  and,  therefore, 
it  is  requisite,  in  order  to  our  observing  the  Divine  law  with 
the  reverence  due  to  it,  that  we  begin  with  this  delight  in  it. 
It  is  not  wonderful,  if  God's  testimonies  convey  to  our  minds 
a  joy,  which,  causing  us  to  reject  and  despise  all  other 
things,  holds  our  affections  fast  bound  to  them.  What  can 
be  sweeter  than  to  have  heaven  opened  to  us,  that  we  may 
come  freely  into  the  presence  of  God,  when,  adopting  us  to  be 
his  children,  he  pardons  our  sins  ?  What  can  be  more  desirable 
than  to  hear  that  he  is  so  pacified  towards  us,  as  to  take  upon 
himself  the  care  of  our  life  ?  This  I  have  thought  good  to 
observe  briefly,  that  we  might  not  think  it  strange  to  find 
David  rejoicing  so  greatly  in  God's  law.  The  similitude  of 
inheritance  is  of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  Scriptures ;  and  we 
apply  the  designation  oi  inheritance  to  that  which  we  hold  in 
the  highest  estimation,  so  that  we  are  contented  to  be  de- 
prived of  all  other  things,  provided  we  retain  the  safe  and  full 
possession  of  that  one  thing.  Accordingly,  the  prophet 
intimates,  that  whatever  good  things  he  had  obtained  he 
accounted  them  as  adventitious,  and  that  the  truths  revealed 
in  God's  word  alone  were  to  him  as  an  inheritance.  Without 
the  Divine  word  all  other  things  were  in  his  estimation  as 
nothing ;  so  that  he  could  willingly  leave  to  others,  riches, 
honours,  comforts,  and  pleasures,  provided  he  possessed  this 
incomparable  treasure.  It  is  not  meant  to  say  that  he  alto- 
gether despised  the  temporal  benefits  which  God  bestows, 
but  his  mind  was  not  bound  fast  to  them. 

112.  I  have  inclined  my  heart  to  perform  thy  statutes.  In 
this  verse  he  describes  the  right  observance  of  the  law,  which 
consists  in  our  cheei'fully  and  heartily  preparing  ourselves 
for  doing  what  the  law  commands.  Slavish  and  constrained 
obedience  differs  little  from  rebellion.  The  prophet,  therefore, 
in  order  briefly  to  define  what  it  is  to  serve  God,  asserts, 
that  he  applied  not  only  his  hands,  eyes,  or  feet,  to  the  keep- 


486  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSAL3I CXIX. 

ing  of  the  law,  but  that  he  began  with  the  affection  of  the 
heart.  Instead  of  the  verb  incline,  the  verb  extend\n\^\i  with 
propriety  be  employed  ;  but  I  am  inclined  to  rest  in  the  more 
generally  received  interpretation,  which  is,  that  he  devoted 
himself  with  sincere  affection  of  heart  to  the  observance  of  the 
law.  This  inclination  of  the  heart  is  opposed  to  the  wander- 
ing lusts  which  rise  up  against  God,  and  drag  us  any  where 
rather  than  incline  us  to  a  virtuous  life.  The  attempt  of  the 
Papists  to  defend  from  this  passage  their  doctrine  of  free  will 
is  mere  trifling.  They  infer  from  the  words  of  the  prophet,  that 
it  is  in  the  power  of  man  to  bend  his  own  heart  in  whatever 
way  he  pleases.  But  the  answer  is  easy.  The  prophet  does 
not  here  boast  of  what  he  had  done  by  his  own  strength,  for 
he  now  repeats  the  very  same  word  which  he  had  employed 
before,  when  he  said,  Incline  my  heart  to  thy  testimonies.  If 
that  prayer  was  not  feigned,  he  doubtless  acknowledged  by 
it  that  it  was  the  peculiar  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  incline 
and  frame  our  hearts  to  God.  But  it  is  no  new  thing  for 
that  to  be  ascribed  to  us  which  God  works  in  us  :  Paul's 
statement  to  this  effect  is  very  plain,  "  It  is  God  who  work- 
C'th  in  you,  both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleasure," 
(Philip,  ii.  13.)  When  the  prophet  says  of  himself  that  he 
inclined  his  heart,  he  does  not  separate  his  own  endeavour  from 
the  grace  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  by  whose  inspiration  he  has 
previously  declared  that  the  whole  was  done.  At  the  same 
time,  he  distinguishes  the  constancy  of  his  pious  affection  from 
the  transient  fervour  of  others.  Thus,  that  he  might  not  fail 
in  the  midst  of  his  course,  or  even  go  backward,  he  affirms 
that  he  had  resolved  to  continue  in  the  same  course  during 
the  whole  of  his  life.  The  word  HpJ^,  ekeh,  to  the  end,  in  my 
opinion,  is  added  to  the  word  uy\'^^,  leolam,for  ever,  by  way  of 
exposition  ;  and  to  show  us  that  he  struggled  manfully  against 
all  obstacles  and  difficulties,  that  they  might  not  break  his 
constancy ;  for  no  man  perseveres  in  the  service  of  God 
without  arduous  exertions.  Some  take  the  word  as  denoting 
a  reicard;^  but  this  seems  too  foreii-n  to  the  desig-n  of  the 
passage. 

1  Thus,  in  the  Arabic,  it  is,  "on  account  of  an  eternal  reward  ;  "  tliat 
is,  the  re  Hard  of  grace  promised  to  all  the  faithful.     According  to  this 


PSA.LM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  487 

D  113.  /  have  hated  croolced  thoughts,  and  loved  thy  law. 

D  114.  Thou  art  my  hiding-place  and  my  shield  :  I  have  trusted  in 

thy  tt'ord. 
D  115.  Depart  from  me,  ye  wicked!  atid  I  will  keep  the  command- 
ments of  my  God. 
D  116.  Sustain  me  by  thy  vjord,  and  I  shall  live:  and  make  me  not 

ashamed  of  my  expectation. 
D  117.  Establish  me,  and  I  shall  be  safe:  and  I  ivill  consider  thy 

statutes  continucdly. 
D  118.  Thou  hast  trodden  under  foot  all  those  who  roander  from  thy 

statutes;  for  their  deceit  is  falsehood. 
D  119.  Thou  hast  made  all  the  wicked  of  the  earth  to  cease  as  dross  ; 

therefore  I  have  loved  thy  testimonies. 
D  120.  My  flesh  trembled  for  fear  of  thee,  and  I  toas  afraid  of  thy 

judgments. 

113.  /  have  hated  crooked  thoughts.  Those  who  are  of 
opinion  that  the  word  D''SyDj  seaphim,  the  first  in  the  verse, 
and  which  is  rendered  crooked  thoughts,  is  an  appellative  noun, 
translate  it,  those  ivho  think  evil ;^  but  it  is  more  correct  to 
understand  it  of  the  thoughts  themselves,^  and  this  interpre- 
tation is  very  generally  adopted.  The  noun  tj^Dj  saeph,  pro- 
perly signifies  a  branch,  but  it  is  applied  metaphorically  to 
the  thoughts,  which,  growing  out  of  the  heart,  as  branches 
from  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  spread  themselves  in  every  direc- 
tion. As  there  is  no  doubt  that  in  this  passage  the  term  is 
taken  in  a  bad  sense,  I  have  added  the  epitliet,  crooked,  which 
the  etymology  of  the  word  requires.  ^     As  the  branches  of 

vicAv,  the  Psalmist  would  liave  a  respect  to  the  end  and  reward  of  faith 
and  holy  obedience.  See  lleb.  xi.  '>.<^  ;  1  Pet.  i.  8,  9.  As,  however,  the 
Psalmist,  like  all  true  believers,  did  not  embrace  and  obey  tlie  law  of  God, 
only  or  chiefly  from  the  hope  of  reward,  but  Avas  chiefly  attracted  to 
obedience  Xsy  love  to  God,  and  the  intrinsic  excellence  of  the  law,  others 
prefer  reading  "  the  reward  is  eternal." 

1  In  the  Chaldee,  it  is  "  vain  thinkers  ;  "  and  thus  the  meaning  would 
be,  "  I  hate  men  that  think  evil,  that  devise  wicked  devices,  or  that  have 
false  and  evil  opinions,  opposite  to  God's  law,  or  tending  to  seduce  men 
from  it." 

2  It  signifies  thoughts  in  Job  iv.  14,  and  xx.  2  ;  and  opinions  in  1 
Kings  xviii.  21 :  and  these  may  be  either  good  or  evil,  their  character 
being  determined  by  the  context  of  the  passage  in  which  tlie  word  occurs. 

'  The  sense  of  the  text  also  requires  that  the  Avord  for  thoughts  should 
here  be  taken  in  a  bad  sense,  for  the  Psalmist  affirms  that  he  hates  them, 
and  sets  God's  law  in  opposition  to  them.  Various  epithets  have  been 
supplied  to  describe  the  character  of  these  thoughts,  such  as  "croolced," 


488  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

a  tree  shoot  out  transversely,  entangled  and  Intertwined,  so 
the  thoughts  of  the  human  mind  are,  in  like  manner,  con- 
flisedly  mingled  together,  turning  and  twisting  about  in  all 
directions.  Some,  Jewish  interpreters  understand  it  of  the  laws 
of  the  heathen,  which,  they  say,  were  cut  off  from  the  law  of 
God,  as  branches  from  a  tree;  but  although  this  is  ingenious,  it 
has  no  solidity.  I  therefore  keep  by  the  more  simple  ex- 
planation, That  the  crooked  inventions  of  the  human  heart, 
and  whatever  the  wicked  devise,  according  to  their  own  per- 
verse understandings,  are  set  in  opposition  to  the  law  of  God, 
which  alone  is  right.  And,  assuredly,  wdioever  would  truly 
embrace  the  law  of  God,  must,  necessarily,  as  his  first  busi- 
ness, divest  himself  of  all  unhallowed  and  sinful  thoughts,  or 
rather  go  out  of  his  own  nature.  Such  is  the  meaning,  un- 
less, perhaps,  preferring  another  metaphor,  we  understand 
D^'SyD)  seaplwn,  to  signify  hi(/h  thoughts,  since  the  verb  5]yD) 
sadph,  is  taken  for  to  lift  up.  Now  we  know  that  no  sacrifice 
is  more  acceptable  to  God  than  obedience,  when  we  enter- 
tain low  thoughts  of  ourselves  ;  and  thus  our  docility  begins 
with  humility.  But  as  this  exposition  may  seem  also  far- 
fetched, I  pass  from  it.  Let  what  I  have  said  suffice  us. 
That  since  God  acknowledges  as  the  disciples  of  his  law 
those  only  who  are  well  purified  from  all  contrary  imagina- 
tions, which  corrupt  our  understanding,  the  prophet  here 
protests  that  he  is  an  enemy  to  all  crooked  thoughts,  which 
are  wont  to  draw  men  hither  and  thither. 

114.  Thou  art  my  hiding-place  and  my  shield.  The  meaning 
is,  that  the  prophet,  persuaded  that  the  only  way  in  which  he 
could  be  safe,  was  by  lying  hid  under  the  wings  of  God,  con- 
fided in  his  promises,  and,  therefore,  feared  nothing.      And, 

by  Calvin,  "  vain,"  by  our  English  version,  and  "high  minded,"  by 
Luther.  Ainsworth  supplies  wavering^  observing,  that  the  original  terra 
denotes  the  top  branches  of  trees,  which  are  figuratively  applied  to  the 
thoughts  or  opinions  of  the  mind,  to  denote  that  they  are  wavering  and 
uncertain,  as  1  Kings  xviii.  21  ;  or  to  persons  distracted  with  their  own 
cogitations.  Poole  remarks,  agreeably  to  Calvin's  interpretation,  that 
the  thoughts,  or  opinions,  or  devices  of  men  diftering  from,  or  opposite 
to  God's  law,  may  be  intended,  since,  in  the  next  clause,  God's  law  is 
opposed  to  them,  and  as  some,  both  Jewish  and  Christian,  expositors 
understand  the  Hebrew  word. 


rSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  489 

assuredly,  the  first  point  Is,  that  the  faithful  should  hold  it  as  a 
settled  principle,  that  amidst  the  many  dangers  to  which  they 
are  exposed,  the  preservation  of  their  life  is  entirely  owing 
to  the  protection  of  God  ;  in  order  that  they  may  be  excited 
to  flee  to  Him,  and  leaning  upon  his  word,  may  confidently 
wait  for  the  deliverance  which  he  has  promised.  This  con- 
fidence, That  God  is  our  refuge  and  our  shield,  is,  no  doubt, 
derived  from  the  word ;  but  we  must  remember  that  there  is 
here  a  mutual  relation — that,  when  we  have  learned  from  the 
word  of  God  that  we  have  in  him  a  safe  hiding-place,  this 
truth  is  to  be  cherished  and  confirmed  in  our  hearts,  under  a 
consciousness  of  our  absolute  need  of  the  divine  protection. 
Besides,  although  his  power  ought  abundantly  to  suflficc  in 
inspiring  us  with  the  hope  of  salvation,  yet  we  should  always 
set  the  word  before  us,  that  our  faith  may  not  fail  when  his 
aid  is  slow  in  coming. 

115.  Depart  from  me,  ye  wicked!  Some  explain  this  verse 
as  if  David  declared  that  he  would  devote  himself  with  more 
alacrity  and  greater  earnestness  to  the  keeping  of  the  law, 
when  the  wicked  should  have  desisted  from  assaulting  him. 
And,  unquestionably,  when  we  feel  that  God  has  delivered 
us,  we  are  more  than  stupid  if  this  experience  does  not  stir 
up  within  us  an  earnest  desire  to  serve  him.  If  godliness 
does  not  increase  in  us  in  proportion  to  the  sense  and  expe- 
rience we  have  of  God's  grace,  we  betray  base  ingratitude. 
This,  then,  is  a  true  and  useful  doctrine ;  but  the  prophet 
meant  to  convey  a  different  sentiment  in  this  place.  As  he 
saw  how  great  a  hinderance  the  ungodly  are  to  us,  he  banishes 
them  to  a  distance  from  him  ;  or  rather,  he  testifies  that  he 
will  beware  of  entangling  himself  in  their  society.  Nor  has 
he  said  this  so  much  for  his  own  sake  as  to  teach  us  by  his 
example,  that  if  we  would  hold  on  in  the  way  of  the  Lord 
without  stumbling,  we  must  endeavour,  above  all  things,  to 
keep  at  the  greatest  possible  distance  from  worldly  and  wicked 
men,  not  in  regard  to  distance  of  place,  but  in  respect  of 
intercourse  and  conversation.  Provided  we  contract  an  in- 
timate acquaintance  with  them,  it  is  scarcely  possible  for  us 
to  avoid  being  speedily  corrupted  by  the  contagion  of  their 


490  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  OXIX. 

example.  The  dangerous  influence  of  fellowsliip  with  wicked 
men  is  but  too  evident  from  observation  ;  and  to  this  it  is 
owing,  that  few  continue  in  their  integrity  to  the  close  of  life, 
the  Avorld  being  fraught  with  corruptions.  From  the  extreme 
infirmity  of  our  nature,  it  is  the  easiest  thing  in  the  world  to 
catch  infection,  and  to  contract  pollution  even  from  the  slight- 
est touch.  The  prophet,  then,  with  good  reason,  bids  the 
wicked  depart  from  him,  that  he  may  advance  in  the  fear  of 
God  Avithout  obstruction.  Whoever  entangles  himself  in 
their  companionship  will,  in  process  of  time,  proceed  the 
length  of  abandoning  himself  to  a  contempt  of  God,  and  of 
leading  a  dissolute  life.  With  this  statement  agrees  the  ad- 
monition of  Paul,  in  2  Cor.  vi.  14,  "  Be  ye  not  unequally 
yoked  together  w^ith  unbelievers."  It  was,  indeed,  beyond 
the  prophet's  power  to  chase  the  wicked  to  a  distance  from 
him  ;  but  by  these  words  he  intimates,  that  from  henceforth 
he  will  have  no  intercourse  with  them.  He  emphatically 
designates  God  as  his  God,  to  testify  that  he  makes  more 
account  of  him  alone  than  of  all  mankind.  Finding  extreme 
Avickedness  universally  prevailing  on  the  earth,  he  sepai'ated 
himself  from  men,  that  he  might  join  himself  wholly  to 
God.  At  the  present  day,  that  bad  examples  may  not 
carry  us  away  to  evil,  it  greatly  concerns  us  to  put  God 
on  our  side,  and  to  abide  constantly  in  him,  because  he  is 
ours. 

116.  Sustahi  me  hy  thy  ivord,  and  I  shall  live.  Many  read. 
According  to  thy  ivord,  so  that  the  letter  i,  heth,  Avhich  signi- 
fies m,  is  taken  for  the  letter  ^,  caph,  Avhich  signifies  as ;  and 
thus  the  sense  Avould  be.  Sustain  me  according  to  the  promise 
Avhich  thou  hast  made  to  me,  or,  as  thou  hast  promised  to 
me.  And,  undoubtedly,  Avhenever  God  stretches  out  his 
hand  to  us  to  raise  us  up  Avhen  avc  are  fallen,  or  supports  us 
with  his  hand,  he  fulfils  his  promises.  The  prophet,  hoAvever, 
seems  to  pray,  that  constancy  of  faith  may  be  given  him,  to 
enable  him  to  continue  stedfast  in  the  Divine  word.  We  are 
said  to  fall  from  God's  word  when  Ave  fall  from  the  faith  of 
it ;  and  in  like  manner,  so  long  as  Ave  repose  upon  the  truth 
and  certainty  of  it,  he  is  our  sustainer.     But  as  the  prophet 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  491 

well  knew  that  there  Is  not  strength  in  man  adequate  to 
this,  he  asks  from  God  ability  to  persevere  as  the  singular 
gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  follows,  then,  that  true  stability 
is  to  be  found  no  where  else  but  in  the  word  of  God ; 
and  that  no  man  can  stedfastly  lean  upon  it  but  he  who  is 
strengthened  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  KSpirit.  We  must  there- 
fore always  beseech  God,  who  alone  is  the  author  and  finisher 
of  faith,  to  maintain  in  us  this  grace.  Farther,  when  the 
Psalmist  places  life  in  faith,  he  teaches,  that  all  that  men 
promise  themselves  without  the  word  is  mere  falsehood.  It 
is  therefore  the  Lord  alone  who  quickens  us  by  his  word, 
even  as  it  is  said  in  Ilabakkuk,  (ii.  4,)  "  The  just  shall 
live  by  faith."  Both  passages  have  the  same  meaning. 
After  Habakkuk  has  derided  the  foolish  confidence  of  the 
flesh,  with  which  men  are  generally  Inflated,  and  as  manifested 
in  their  raising  themselves  oft  high  that  they  may  fall  with 
the  greater  violence,  he  shows,  that  the  faithful  alone,  whom 
the  word  of  God  sustains,  stand  upon  safe  and  sure  ground. 

If  the  first  interpretation  is  adopted,  the  second  clause, 
make  me  not  ashamed  of  my  expectation,  will  be  added  by  way 
of  exposition ;  for  these  two  things — the  prayer  that  the  pro- 
phet may  be  preserved  by  God's  grace  according  to  his  word, 
and  the  prayer  that  he  may  reap  the  fruit  of  his  hope — 
would  amount  to  nearly  the  same  thing.  Yet,  after  having 
beseeched  God  to  grant  him  constancy  to  persevere,  he  seems 
now  to  proceed  farther,  praying  that  God  would,  in  very 
deed,  show  the  thing  which  he  had  promised.  Every  man's 
own  infirmity  bears  witness  to  the  many  doubts  which  intrude 
into  our  minds,  when,  after  long  endurance,  the  Issue  is  not 
answerable  to  our  expectation  ;  for  God,  In  that  case,  seems 
to  disappoint  us. 

To  the  same  effect  Is  the  next  verse,  except  that  no  express 
mention  Is  made  of  the  word  ;  and  safety  Is  put  for  Ife.  The 
prophet  means  to  say,  that  whenever  God  withdrew  his  word, 
it  would  be  all  over  with  his  safety ;  but  that,  if  he  were 
established  by  the  Divine  power,  there  was  nothing  of  which 
he  would  have  reason  to  be  afraid.  The  verb  H^^)  sliadh, 
which  we  have  translated  Iivlll  consider,  Is  rendered  by  many, 
/  will  delight,  and  this  sense  is  not  unsuitable ;   for  although 


492  COMMENTARY  UPON  PSALM  CXIX. 

God  may  give  a  very  desirable  taste  of  his  goodness  in  his 
bare  word,  yet  the  savour  of  it  is  not  a  little  increased  when 
to  the  Avord  the  effect  is  added,  provided  we  do  not  perversely 
separate  God's  benefits  from  his  promises.  It  Is  the  true 
wisdom  of  faith  to  consider  all  his  benefits  as  the  result  or  fruit 
of  his  promises,  of  which,  if  we  make  no  account,  the  enjoy- 
ment of  all  his  good  things  will  be  of  little  advantage  to  us,  or 
rather  will  often  prove  hurtful  and  deadly.  Yet  it  appears 
to  me  preferable  to  render  the  verb  by  consider ;  for  the  more 
experience  any  man  has  of  God's  help,  the  more  ought  he  to 
awaken  himself  to  consider  heavenly  doctrine.  The  Psalmist 
adds,  that  he  will  continue  to  persevere  In  this  meditation 
durlno;  the  whole  of  his  life. 

118.  Tliou  hast  trodden  under  foot  all  those  who  wander  from 
thy  statutes.  By  treading  under  foot  he  means,  that  God 
overthrows  all  the  despisers  of  his  law,  and  casts  them  down 
from  that  loftiness  which  they  assume  to  themselves.  The 
phrase  is  du'ected  against  the  foolish,  or  rather  frantic,  confi- 
dence with  which  the  wicked  are  Inflated,  when  they  reck- 
lessly deride  the  judgments  of  God;  and,  what  is  more,  scruple 
not  to  magnify  themselves  against  him,  as  if  they  were  not 
subject  to  his  power.  The  last  clause  Is  to  be  particularly 
noticed  :  For  their  deceit  is  falsehood.^  By  these  words  the 
prophet  teaches,  that  the  wicked  gain  nothing  by  their  wiles, 
but  that  they  are  rather  entangled  In  them,  or  at  length  dis- 
cover that  they  were  mere  sleight  of  hand.  Those  ignorantly 
mar  the  sense  who  interpose  the  copula  and,  as  if  it  had 
been  said,  that  deceit  and  falsehood  were  in  them.  The  word 
n*'/!3%  remyah,  signifies  a  subtle  and  crafty  device.  Interpre- 
ters, Indeed,  often  translate  It  thought ;  but  this  term  does 
not  sufiiciently  express  the  propriety  and  force  of  the  Hebrew 
word.  The  prophet  means,  that,  however  well  pleased  the 
wicked  are  with  their  own  cunning,  they  yet  do  nothing  else 
than  deceive  themselves  with  falsehood.     And  it  was  needful 


^  Dimock  thinks  that,  by  this  expression,  the  Psalmist  probably  alludes 
to  the  Lex  TaUnnis  amongst  the  Jews,  and  that  the  Apostle  might  refer 
to  this  passage  in  2  Thess.  ii.  11 ;  where  he  says,  "  that  God  should  send 
them  strong  delusion^  that  they  should  believe  a  ^e." 


PSALM  CXIX.  THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS.  493 

to  add  this  clause ;  for  we  see  how  the  great  bulk  of  mankind 
are  fatally  intoxicated  with  their  own  vain  imaginations,  and 
how  difficult  it  is  to  believe  what  is  here  asserted, — that  the 
more  shrewd  they  are  in  their  own  estimation,  the  more  do 
they  deceive  themselves. 

119.  Thou  hast  made  all  the  ivicked  of  the  earth  to  cease  as 
dross.  The  meaning  of  this  verse  is  similar  to  that  of  the 
preceding.  By  the  similitude  employed,  there  is  described 
a  sudden  and  an  unexpected  change,  when  their  imaginative 
glory  and  happiness  become  dissipated  in  smoke.  It  is  to  be 
observed,  that  the  vengeance  of  God  against  the  wicked  is  not 
all  at  once  manifested,  so  that  they  completely  perish,  or  are 
exterminated  from  the  earth ;  but  as  God,  in  rooting  them  out 
one  after  another,  shows  himself  to  be  the  judge  of  the  world, 
and  that  he  is  purging  the  earth  of  them,  it  is  not  wonderful 
to  find  the  prophet  speaking  of  their  destruction  in  this  man- 
ner ;  for  the  Hebrew  verbs  often  denote  a  continued  act.  As 
God,  then,  executes  his  judgments  by  little  and  little,  and 
often  suspends  punishment  until  he  see  that  the  wicked 
abuse  his  long-suffering  ;  it  becomes  us,  on  our  part,  to  con- 
tinue patiently  waiting  until,  as  a  heathen  writer  observes, 
he  compensate  the  delay  of  the  punishment,  by  its  severity 
when  inflicted.  It  is  abundantly  evident,  that  the  particle  of 
similitude,  as,  is  to  be  supplied  before  the  word  dross}  Nor 
do  I  reject  the  opinion  of  those  who  assert,  that  the  wicked 
are  compared  to  dross,  because,  so  long  as  they  are  mingled 
among  the  faithful  as  dregs,  they  infect  and  contaminate 
them ;  but  when  they  are  removed  as  scum,  the  purity  of 
the  godly  shines  forth  with  improved  lustre.  In  the  second 
place,  the  prophet  adds,  that  the  judgments  of  God  were  not 
without  fruit  in  him,  since  they  led  him  to  love  the  doctrine 

'  "  Before  the  noun  qijD)  rendered  dross,  the  particle  3,  of  similitude,  is 
understood,  so  that  the  Psalmist  says, '  Thou  hast  entirely  removed  (made 
to  cease)  all  the  wicked  of  the  earth  asdi'oss,'  which  is  removed  from  metals 
by  fusion,  or  from  com  by  winnowing.  The  society  of  men  is  as  a  mass 
of  metal  in  which  the  wicked  are  as  rust  aud  dross.  The  judgments  of 
God,  which  are  searching,  will  cause  a  separation  of  the  dross  fi-om  the 
metal,  and  thus  He  will  destroy  the  one  and  preserve  the  other." — 
Phillips. 


494  COMMENTARY,  ETC.  PSALM  CXIX. 

of  the  law  the  more.  Those  who  are  not  incluced  to  commit 
themselves  to  the  protection  of  God,  whenever,  by  lifting  up 
his  hand,  he  shows  that  the  world  is  governed  by  his  power, 
must  certainly  be  veiy  perverse ;  but  when,  of  his  own  good 
pleasure,  he  offers  himself  to  us  by  his  word,  those  who  do  not 
make  haste  to  embrace  so  great  a  boon  are  stupid  indeed.  On 
the  other  hand,  when  he  connives  for  a  long  time  at  the 
wickedness  of  men,  devout  affection,  which  should  ravish  us 
with  the  love  of  God's  word,  languishes. 

120.  Myjlesh  hath  tremhled  for  fear  of  thee}  At  first  sight 
the  prophet  seems  to  contradict  himself.  He  had  just  now 
said,  that,  by  God's  severity,  he  was  gently  drawn  to  love  his 
testimonies  ;  now  he  declares,  that  he  was  seized  with  terror. 
But  although  these  two  effects  differ  widely  from  each  other, 
yet,  if  we  consider  by  what  kind  of  discipline  God  forms  us 
to  reverence  his  law,  we  will  perceive  that  they  entirely  har- 
monise. We  require  to  be  subdued  by  fear,  that  we  may 
desire  and  seek  after  the  favour  of  God.  Since  fear,  then,  is 
the  beginning  of  love,  the  prophet  testifies,  that  he  Avas 
awakened  by  a  heart-felt  fear  of  God  to  look  well  to  himself. 
Nor  is  the  mortification  of  the  flesh  so  easy  a  matter,  as  that 
every  one  should  consent  to  enter  upon  it,  without  the  con- 
straint of  violent  means  ;  and,  therefore,  it  is  not  wonderful  if 
God  struck  his  servant  with  terror,  that,  in  this  way,  he  might 
bend  his  mind  to  a  holy  fear  of  him.  It  is  an  evidence  of  no 
common  wisdom  to  tremble  before  God  when  he  executes  his 
judgments,  of  which  the  majority  of  mankind  take  no  notice. 
We  are  then  taught  by  these  words  of  the  prophet,  that  we 
ought  to  consider  attentively  the  judgments  of  God,  that  they 
may  not  only  gently  instruct  us,  but  that  they  may  also  strike 
us  with  such  terror  as  will  lead  us  to  true  repentance. 

1  The  verb  -)DD»  samar,  rendered  hath  trembled,  denotes  being  seized 
with  hoiTor,  so  that  the  hair  stands  on  end.  It  occurs  in  Piel  in  Jobiv. 
15.  This  state  of  hon*or  was  produced  on  the  mind  of  the  Psalmist  by 
a  contemplation  of  tlie  divine  judgments  executed  on  the  wicked,  who 
are  rejected  lilvc  dross  ;  and  he  was  thus  brought  to  fear  God. 


END  OF  THE  FOURTH  VOLUME. 


*   •* 


Psalms  c,  ci.,  cvi.-cxix,,  Gist  verse,  of  this  volume,  are 
translated  hy  the  Rev.  John  Hunter,  Savock. 


»i. 


ncfton  Theological  ^fmina'rSPW'  L|j"f' 


1   1012  01147  5615 


Date  Due 


Wr25'3J 


Ap  29 


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hMi^^ 


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